Final Fantasy XI Chains of Promathia Expansion Pack

Other products by Square Enix

Product Features

• Each kingdom has its own storyline - as you progress you'll enter other kingdoms and interact with new players, for all-new quests and missions
• New Subjob feature lets users build new skills as they take on new jobs -- and add them to their overall abilities
• Incredible new controls make it possible to play the game with minimal mouse use -- players can create their own shortcut keys, for using skills and abilities, emote, talk & more
• Amazing new character and world design - Explore 100 different, unique areas where time & the weather constantly change, as thrilling cutscenes advance the storyline
• Fight, explore, email and chat with other players from around the world

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0002UF2P6
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.5 x 1.5 inches ; 6.4 ounces
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: June 15, 2006
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #17,074 in Video Games (See Bestsellers in Video Games)

Product Description

Platform: PC

From the Manufacturer

Vana'diel is about to witness the realization of an ancient legend. Uncharted territories have been discovered on its fringes, and adventurers speak in hushed tones of settlements long forgotten. It is said that those who dwell in Vana'diel were born of the tears shed by Altana, Goddess of the Dawn. But tales tell of an opposite to the loving deity--a divinity know as Promathia, God of Twilight. While Altana soars on wings of freedom, Promathia is bound in chains: his confinement is said to be self-imposed. Can this legend be true? And do rumors of the frightening phenomenon occurring in faraway lands have any relation to Promathia? The unfolding mystery of Chains of Promathia will bring adventurers ever closer to the astonishing truth behind Vana'diel's origin.

Product Description

Mysteries of Vana'diel are unraveled, additionalsecrets will be discovered!



[Requires Original Version of Final Fantasy XI to Play]

Final Fantasy XI the award-winning online adventure RPG continues with this newexpansion pack. Join an ever growing population of adventurers from around theglobe on this epic cross-platform journey in Final Fantasy XI Online Chains ofPromathia.  Discover the ancient legend of Promathia God of Twilight. Bound in chains he holds the key to the origins of Vana'diel.

• Explore uncharted territories including the Tavnazian Archipelago the subterranean city of Movalpolos the foreboding Atthwa Chasm and many more.
• Confront the Emptiness" an insidious phenomenon gnawing away at the land.
• Experience new events fight new battles and meet new characters who will help you along your journey.

• Requires Original Version of Final Fantasy XI to Play
• Windows 98, 98SE, Me, 2000, XP
• Pentium III 800 MHz processor
• 128 MB of RAM
• NVIDIA GeForce series graphic processing unit with 32 MB or ATI RADEON 9000 series Graphics Card
• DirectX 8.1 compatible Sound Card
• 2 GB Hard Disk space
• 4X CD-ROM drive
• 56 kbps modem or better
• Keyboard
• Mouse

 

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Expansion for Serious Players, February 9, 2005

By	Neil Laughlin (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars 

Final Fantasy XI: Chains of Promathia is the first North America expansion pack for the popular Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) Final Fantasy XI. Like the main game, it is rated T (Teen: Blood, violence), but the content largely resolves around battles with cartoonish opponents, and will be appropriate for most children sophisticated enough to understand its basic controls.

The expansion adds a dozen or more new areas, many new quests, and a major new mission arc, substantially extending the game plot. However, much or all of the new content is locked behind either relatively high level restrictions or challenging quests that cannot be completed without the assistance of a solid group of players. This is not an expansion that alters the experience a new player has with the game -- instead, it extends the life of the game for people who have already played it for months or years.

Much of the criticism leveled against the expansion is that it does little to add new features to the game, such as new races or jobs. Square-Enix, in designing the expansion, has definitely chosen to focus on adding more places to go and things to kill, rather than new toys for a starting character to play with.

This expansion is really only of interest to players who have already sunk 100+ hours into Final Fantasy XI; if this describes you, and you haven't already purchased the expansion, do so tonight. If you just want to try Final Fantasy XI out, you do not need this expansion to do so.

Pros:
* Nice new areas for higher-level characters.
* Level-capped areas let parties of disparate levels play together.
* New plot available for players who have finished the main game plot.
* Areas such as Promyvion and Bibiki Bay are visually gorgeous.

Cons:
* Most of the content is not accessible to lower-level players; some is out of reach of even higher-level casual players.
* This is NOT a standalone expansion; you must have purchased the original game to play it.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Flawed, but still the best MMO out there, January 26, 2005

By	Evan Sims "Game Designer" (Champaign, IL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

I've been playing FFXI since beta and while my love for the game is obvious to anyone, I will be the first to admit that it's flawed, and certainly not for everyone.

I've played every major MMO release since Ultima Online, and I will say the FFXI definitely offers to the most bang for the buck: there are literally thousands of quests, exciting and fascinating missions that reveal storyline elements, and some of the most gorgeous sights you'll ever see in any game- period.

In Ultima Online I primarily played a craftsman, rather than an adventurer. I was a Carpenter; I loved my craft, and I made good money at it. Since I left UO, I've always been looking for a game with a crafting system as enticing as that was, and FFXI is the first I've found not only to match it, but beat it. Like so many things in FFXI, crafting is not nearly as simple as you might think. Crafting involves using a crystal (of which there are 8: Earth, Wind, Water, Fire, Ice, Lightning, Light and Dark, each associated with a unique weather pattern, raw element, celestial formation, and color), combined with a number of ingredients, to create something new or, in the case of Lightning crystals, to deconstruct an item to its raw materials, allowing you to then construct something else from those materials. Fans of the anime series Full Metal Alchemist, as I am, will find this system particularly fun. Many things impact your crafting results, like the day of the week (and its alignment with the crystal you're using) and the celestial formation your facing, and new aspects are still being discovered!

Now, to be fair, there are aspects of the game that I dislike. The economy is quite unbalanced. You have to be selective as to what you craft, and do plenty of research on where and how to attain the materials you need as cheaply as possible, because many times you will end up losing money on a synthesis. The moral there is simply be aware of the risks, and research what you're doing. The fact that crafting does take a level of intelligence and effort does say something about the craftsmen of this game, though.

Secondly, there are problems with so-called gil sellers; people who try to earn as much gil as possible and resell it using services on the web for real-world money. My opinion on the morality of this matter is not important, but the problems these individuals create for players is quite appearent: competition for attaining rare items off NMs (or, Notorious Monsters/Named Mobs) is very high. Yet, while it can be difficult it is not impossible, and from the hunts that I've won, it has made my reward personally all the more fruitful.

The level grind is also a factor to consider. This game is not World of Warcraft, or City of Heroes. There is a serious grind. It's harsh, plain and simple, and it will take you and your character some time to get over that initial speed bump. To be honest, leveling is my least favorite part of this game, because of the time involved and the frustrations that case arise. I quit the game for a number of months because of this, in fact. But, I realized a couple of things: Leveling isn't everything- there is so much to do in this game, no one should have to consider leveling as their focus. Secondly, even as annoying as it can be, the leveling is so worth it. The rewards you get for progressing your character - if only the sights you see and the places to explore - is so worth it. I've never been able to say that about any MMO before.

So, in summary: The game is not perfect, and it can be aggravating at times; but hands down, its the best MMO out there, and definitely the most rewarding. You'll only get as much out of this game as you put into it. Work hard at developing your character, and you'll experience what FFXI truly is.

If you're looking for epic game play, exciting adventures, rewarding experiences, and the most for your money, I'd definitely recommend FFXI over anything else out there right now.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Massive Challenge, March 15, 2006

By	SystemStructure "System uses Meditate! A goo... (town, WA United States) - See all my reviews

Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

"To reiterate, the current expansion, Chains of Promathia, has steep requirements at almost every turn that players must complete in order to reap the rewards that await at that story arc's conclusion. In the broader scale of things, Final Fantasy XI has a much steeper learning curve than games like World of Warcraft and Guild Wars, requiring six-person parties (or larger) to achieve most anything in the game. "

"level-capped areas..."
- From 1up.com 03/15/06

It's hard. And time consuming. I've been a video game player for a long time now and after playing this for awhile, I have to say that the missions contained in this box are some of the all time hardest I have ever come across. A casual game player, like someone who maybe knows who Super Mario is, would not stand a snowball's chance in hell of passing even the first mission. The complexity and challenge of even the first set of three missions is staggering. It requires absolutely perfect play from the people participating. You must have no distractions. You must always have a complex and planned out strategy for every single step of the way. Oh and "level capped" areas mean you will need to expend more in-game money to have an entirely different set of equipment for when you can scrape a party together to go on these hard "capped" missions (which also mean your characters strength, defense and abilities will be given a serious handicap/gimping).

Of course, the payoff is huge. The final area, which players call {sea} is beautiful and provides access to rare Armor and item upgrades not available anywhere else. Chains of Promathia was designed in many ways to be the ultimate challenge for people that have already become experienced (no pun intended) in this online virtual world. I guess it can be said that an extreme challenge is a lot more fun than going around and defeating every monster in sight in the easy new player areas.

The more seasoned players need new pastures to play in, and this expansion pack provides (most importantly) many, many new zones and locations to travel in (not just "sea"). Perhaps that is the most important aspect of this expansion pack - the new areas, some of which are normal and regular exp camp locations. So not having this means less invites to "exp" party groups (which allow the character to grow stronger).

The actual storyline and animation of movies/cutscenes are very nice, really. They truly are deep, pleasing and rewarding. There are elements of J.R.R. Tolkein and the Neverending Story at work here, along with tons of very original material from the writers over at Square Enix. The work you have to do to see this journey unfold, though, is very rough going.

For serious Online Role Players, Final Fantasy XI, with its high learning curve and deep complexity, is the ideal choice. Oh, and if you are a casual gamer who thinks they are ready for a challenge, well then step up. It just might take you awhile to get past the Promyvions. (;

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