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Amazon Maximum Age: 20 years Amazon Minimum Age: 144 months Binding: CD-ROM Brand: Square Enix EAN: 0662248904139 ESRB Age Rating: Teen Format: CD-ROM Label: Square Enix Manufacturer: Square Enix Model: 662248904139 Number Of Items: 1 Platform: Windows XP Publisher: Square Enix Release Date: June 15, 2006 Sales Rank: 13018 Studio: Square Enix
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 Description: Final Fantasy XI: Chains Of Promathia returns players to the world of Vana'Diel, where you'll join other adventurers around the world for a massive-multiplayer online Final Fantasy game. Volunteer for missions to defend the world and its people, across 100 different gameplay areas -- mountains, deserts, oceans, castles and dungeons, all with lives of their own. Fight the constant time and weather changes and create a legend -- then continue your exploits with the always-expanding new content.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Massive Challenge
"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. (;
Rating: - 3 stars b/c I haven't gotten to the CoP zones/quests yet...
After about 3 months of playing FFXI with the Rise of the Zilart expansion I did decide to get the CoP expansion as well. At the time of writing this, I have about 60 days of playtime in FFXI and am still not leveled enough to really experience the CoP expansion in its entirety and in the few weeks since installing CoP I have not seen any vast change in the gameplay. Personally if I had waited a bit longer I could have gotten FFXI, RoZ, & CoP in the bundle pack all in one which I would recommend to anyone buying Final Fantasy XI at this time. In a few months a 3rd expansion for FFXI will be released called "Treasures of Aht Urhgan" that will add even more jobs such as the Blue Mage and more summoning monsters that you will be able to call as a Summoner. So if your going to jump on the FFXI bandwagon now, buy the bundle pack that includes Final Fantasy XI Online, Rise of the Zilart, & the Chains of Promathia expansions now before the 3rd update is released next year. Why buy 3 expansions when you need them when you can save money and get 2 now in the bundle and get the new one when it is released.
Rating: - An Expansion for Serious Players
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.
Rating: - Flawed, but still the best MMO out there
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.
Rating: - Good.
For one im not here to flame the other two reviewers, but god if you cant afford a stable computer, and internet connection and the monthly fee, then go collect your poverty check and stop complaining. Christ. If your gonna review the game, PLAY IT FIRST, and if you cant?.... then go play lawn darts or something... your ignorance is truly a pain for me, and blissful to you.
Anyway the expansion is great ^_~ adds to an even too big game lol...
- Massive Challenge
- 3 stars b/c I haven't gotten to the CoP zones/quests yet... 
- An Expansion for Serious Players
