This thread has a good discussion on it. To make a long story short, the Echo and being chosen by Hydaelyn aren't the same thing. The MSQ pretty dramatically clarifies this at the end of 3.0. It may be the case that the Echo typically comes part and parcel with being Chosen, or that it's a prerequisite for it, but it's definitely possible to have one and not the other.
In terms of rarity, yes, the Echo is rare, but there's also been multiple groups that have devoted themselves to studying it. Given that player characters are themselves a rarity among Eorzeans, it's not surprising that a greater percentage of them may be things that are asserted as generally rare in lore (e.g., adventurers, mages, miqo'te, and miqo'te males in particular). The Echo is rare, but it's not exceedingly so. The Echo can offer multiple abilities with varying levels of rarity; the powers that have been explicitly confirmed to be part of the Echo are:
It's possible I've missed something in the list above.
Protection from Tempering may or may not be part of the Echo. I tend to think that it's probably not, given some things said by Ifrit, but I don't think there's been any definitive statement on the matter.
In terms of rarity, yes, the Echo is rare, but there's also been multiple groups that have devoted themselves to studying it. Given that player characters are themselves a rarity among Eorzeans, it's not surprising that a greater percentage of them may be things that are asserted as generally rare in lore (e.g., adventurers, mages, miqo'te, and miqo'te males in particular). The Echo is rare, but it's not exceedingly so. The Echo can offer multiple abilities with varying levels of rarity; the powers that have been explicitly confirmed to be part of the Echo are:
It's possible I've missed something in the list above.
Protection from Tempering may or may not be part of the Echo. I tend to think that it's probably not, given some things said by Ifrit, but I don't think there's been any definitive statement on the matter.The Freelance Wizard
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Quality RP at low, low prices!
((about me | about L'yhta Mahre | L'yhta's desk | about Mysterium, the Ivory Tower: a heavy RP society of mages))
