You'll need to be at the endgame to access the Final Fantasy XVI Echoes of the Fallen DLC story quests
The new downloadable content pack for Final Fantasy XVI, Echoes of the Fallen, is available now on PS5, and you'll have an easy time accessing it, provided you're at a certain point in the story.
How to access Final Fantasy XVI Echoes of the Fallen
First things first: You'll need to have actually purchased the DLC pack, either separately, or as part of the Final Fantasy XVI expansion pass, which will also unlock the second DLC, The Rising Tide, when it launches in Spring 2024.
Otherwise, it won't unlock. If you don't own the pack yet and load up the game, a reminder will pop up on the title screen letting you know about it. After you've downloaded and installed Echoes of the Fallen, you'll be able to access the DLC.
Unlocking Echoes of the Fallen story chapter
The FFXVI Echoes of the Fallen quest line only opens up late in the game. Without going into spoilers, you need to have unlocked the Origin location on the World Map. You'll also need to have finished the side quest "Where There's a Will" and the side quest "Priceless". This, more or less, corresponds to Final Fantasy XVI's "point of no return". Echoes of the Past is a story that's separate from the main scenario, but it does flesh out a bit more about some underexplored aspects of Valisthea, so players interested in that world and some of the lingering mysteries of its past will find it worth playing thorugh.
Unlocking the Buster Sword and "Away (1987" Orchestrion Roll in Echoes of the Fallen
Thankfully, there's still something for players who've just started Final Fantasy XVI or aren't yet done with the game. Echoes of the Fallen unlocks a special sword based on Cloud Strife's Buster Sword from Final Fantasy XVI, as well as an Orchestrion Roll that plays "Away (1987)" an 8-bit arrangement of Phoenix's theme by composer Masayoshi Soken.
These items can be accessed as soon as players reach the main scenario quest "A Chance Encounter", which is to say it's right after the prologue. Claim them from the System tab in the options menu.
As a weapon, the Buster Sword is unremarkable, but its stats match the free DLC Onion Sword. Thus, it too will outclass any weapon available from the forge or shops until Clive earns Invictus.
Final Fantasy XVI is available on PS5.
