Final Fantasy: Chains of Promathia

Bahamut, the Wyrmking, heralds the coming of the Keeper of the Apocalypse. Thus begins your first mission with the Chains of Promathia expansion pack, where epic battles and life-or-death missions are the focus of your new $30 friend. Promoting over 40 new areas that are inaccessible without the expansion, and thousands of new items (read: phat loots) though some of them you can just run to the auction house and buy without Chains of Promathia, the game adds tons of content leaving players able to find and explore to their heart’s content.
Paramount to the new Final Fantasy XI experience are the Promathia missions, which take place in the amazing, NeverEnding Story-esque Emptiness zones located at each of the three crags. They’re a requirement for unlocking access to the Tavnazian Stronghold, a new town added with the expansion. Entering one of these Promyvion areas immediately caps you to level 30, enabling these parties to be accessible to friends of mixed levels to try out together. Preparation is key, regardless of how 1337 your level 75 Ninja is, because these zones are hard. Period. Many jobs are considered unsuitable for the Promyvion bosses; bitterness at being told your Red Mage/Black Mage isn’t cool enough to go on a mission, or failing because your entire party dies, is enough to create permanent diplomatic rifts.
Despite the lack of new jobs in the expansion, and the difficulty of the Promyvion zones, there is plenty of new content to warrant a pickup for any but the newest players. For those who haven’t completed the National and Zilart missions, you can still partake in the mysteries to be solved. And for old-school players who have seen it all, and finished it a dozen times, there is ample challenge in unlocking the new areas. 

This article originally appeared in Computer Games Magazine #170