Echo ( Final Fantasy XIV ) The Echo is a special ability that some rare individuals possess , and an important part of the " Final Fantasy XIV " storyline . Those that have been ' gifted ' , as the members of the Path of the Twelve call it , have the power to resonate with other people ' s souls — and see their past , albeit not able to interfere or change it , as well as being able to speak every language in the world . The Echo also seems to prevent its user from being tempered by Primal s , and advanced users have shown to transcend their mortal forms . Those who awaken to it often experience a vision of meteors falling from a burning sky . It said the Echo activates whenever a Calamity draws near , which came to pass with the fall of Dalamud in the Seventh Umbral Era . The Students of Baldesion were a Sharlayan institute devoted to studying the Echo and its connection to the " Rejoining " phenomena . Story . " Final Fantasy XIV " . It is revealed on the third quest of the main storyline of all city - states that the Adventurer has been ' gifted ' with the Echo . Upon discovering this , s / he is called to the Merchant Wards of Ul ' dah where they are invited to join the Path of the Twelve . The true nature and origins of the Echo are currently unknown . According to Ifrit , there ' s a specific deity who gave the power of Echo to everyone who possesses it , but not even he seems to know who that deity is . Anyone who possesses the Echo is branded as a Beastman by the Garlean Empire , and therefore is considered an enemy of the empire . The power of the Echo is used on most class quests . Therefore , even if the Adventurer reaches rank 20 , s / he is unable to begin any class quest before finishing the fourth main storyline quest . " Final Fantasy XIV : A Realm Reborn " . It is revealed that the Echo is linked to the mothercrystal , Hydaelyn . The Adventurer discovers an affinity with the Echo after finding the first Crystal of Light during the early storyline , complete with a vision of the starshower . S / he soon after see visions of the Scion encountered during the story . Throughout the Main Scenario , the Adventurer has various visions depicting prior events , such as the leaders of Eorzea at the Battle of Carteneau or the steps that led to an altercation in Ul ' Dah . This trait leads to the Adventurer being invited to the Scions of the Seventh Dawn , the successor to the Path of the Twelve . " A Realm Awoken " . Minfilia and later the Adventurer are approached by a white - robed Ascian named Elidibus , who claims the Echo is a gift that the Adventurer has yet to master , and in time it may allow them to see the Ascians for who they really are . He also further implores him / her to understand the true nature of the Echo . " Through the Maelstrom " . Taking Elidibus ' s words into consideration about " the true nature of the Echo , " Minfilia accompanies Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn and the other Scions to the Sahagin ' s spawning grounds after learning they mean to summon Leviathan . During the ritual to summon the Lord of the Whorls , they witness the Sahagin Priest has achieved an advanced stage of the Echo that enables him to enter the bodies of his fellow Sahagin upon death . . . only to eventually be absorbed by the newly awakened Primal . " Dreams of Ice " . Ysayle , another bearer of the Echo , was able to channel the primal Shiva into her body and transform into the Lady of Frost . The Ascians reveal that they can use the Echo , referenced by Lahabrea as the " power to break the barriers of existence " , to combine into Ascian Primes . Similar to the Sahagin Priest , he ends up getting absorbed by the primal King Thordan once he ' s struck down . " As Goes Light , So Goes Darkness " . Krile reveals she possesses the Echo , and can trace aetheric signatures . When confronting the Warriors of Darkness at Lost ast Gnath , Krile and the Warrior of Light have a simultaneous Echo vision of the mysterious party confronting an Ascian . It is implied the group conversely had an Echo vision at the same time of the Warrior of Light . " Revenge of the Horde " . Unukalhai confides to the Warrior of Light that he possesses an ability similar to the Echo . Powers . The most profound ability is seeing memories of another being to view past events . This power occurs automatically without the user ' s control , but can yield information they would not obtain otherwise . These visions can even be from millennia ago , as the Adventurer once saw an event from Emperor Xande ' s life in the Third Astral Era . A more subtle effect is the implicit understanding of languages . Throughout the story , any foreign language is automatically understood by the player character , usually with the dialogue boxes slightly altered to imply this is in effect . The most obvious instance of this is whenever Ascians have speaking roles . The exact powers granted by the Echo apparently vary in utility and potency ; according to Krile , her own allow her to sense the traces of a person ' s soul , and even track it through the Lifestream through a potent enough focus . Some users have exhibited the power of metempsychosis due to the Echo ; a sahagin priest was able to restructure himself by entering the bodies of fellow sahagin despite being mortally wounded by Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn . It is implied that this is the same principle by which Ascians are able to manifest in Hydaelyn . Lahabrea and Igeyorhm also used the Echo to fuse into a more powerful form called Ascian Prime . Gameplay . In addition to its plot significance , the Echo is a gameplay mechanic applied to instanced duties in certain cases . This Echo boost is a boost to all stats granted with the following conditions : In most cases , the Echo is only applied to content in subsequent version updates . The Echo only affects the players ' attributes ; it has no effect on fight mechanics themselves . Additionally , the player can turn off the Echo like any other buff if they wish to take on the duty without the extra help .