Who is Dainsleif in Genshin Impact?

Dainsleif has appeared with his own quest in Genshin Impact 1.3. Many players are wondering who he is, but we actually first met Dainsleif in September of 2020. It was Dainsleif who narrated the Teyvat Chapter Storyline Preview: Travail trailer.

During the trailer, we learned interesting things about the game, but we also learned some interesting things about Dainsleif. We can now put this all together with information from his quest to try and find his place in the complicated world of Genshin Impact.

Dainsleif knows things

The most important thing about Dainsleif is that he knows things he probably shouldn’t. He is aware that Venti is actually the Archon of Mondstadt, and he knows that Zhongli has made a secret Contract to End All Contracts. This is actually a lot of fun for players, as Dainsleif narrates all the character trailers. We also learned from the Zhongli trailer that Dainsleif has a low opinion of rulers that he finds to be uncaring or callous.

Dainsleif is not an Archon

In the Travail trailer, as Dainsleif is talking about the gods and the dark corners of the world that they ignore, he says that some people say that a few are chosen “and the rest are dregs”. Dainsleif disagrees, stating “I say we humans have our humanity”. Dainsleif’s inclusion of himself in that statement means that he sees his humanity as being just as important as an Archon’s godly nature, or a Vision holders apparent favor from those deities.

Dainslief, while not an Archon, is a powerful being in his own right. He also says “We will defy this world with a power from beyond”, implying that whatever source his powers have is not something from the world of Teyvat.

Dainsleif knows your sibling

During the trailer, Dainsleif says that if you can defeat him, and command him to step aside, that you will show him that you are worthier than he is to rescue “her”. This is important, as canonically, the Traveler in Genshin Impact is male and the missing sibling is female. When he is speaking with you in the tavern in Mondstadt during his quest, he will say that you are just like him or her, and players will notice that this will be the opposite of your own Travelers gender.

As such, it seems that Dainsleif not only knows your sibling, but feels indebted to them in some way, and wishes to rescue them just like you do. He never says this in the quest, but it is heavily implied that he knows things about you and your sibling that he is not saying.

Dainsleif could be a ruler

Dainsleif is constantly judgemental of rulers, Archons, and nations. He seems to find flaws in all of them as if they cannot live up to his own standards. This seems to imply that Dainsleif himself is a ruler. This one is a bit of a stretch, but it is possible that Dainsleif is the ruler of a nation who felt the need to become as powerful as he good, seeing as the other nations have Archon’s and other powerful entities to protect them.

We will continue to add to this article as we learn more about Dainsleif in Genshin Impact.