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While Altana soars on wings of freedom, Promathia is bound in chains; his confinement is said to be a limitation he has placed upon himself. 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.
From Chains of Promathia box
Final Fantasy XI: Chains of Promathia is the second expansion pack for Final Fantasy XI. This expansion pack brings several new areas, quests, and a new mission storyline to the game. It is also the only expansion thus far to not feature additional jobs.
Chains of Promathia, commonly referred to as CoP by English players, is the first expansion to come out after Final Fantasy XI was released outside of Japan. It was designed to be a challenge for hardcore players while also focusing on the delivery of an immersive story with an ensemble cast. For this reason, Chains of Promathia had the longest storyline and some of the hardest missions found in Final Fantasy XI at its release. The difficulty of these missions have since been lowered after years of feedback from players.
Service for Chains of Promathia commenced on September 22, 2004 (JST).
Story
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Chapter 1: Ancient Flames Beckon
On Qufim Island, the Ducal Guard led by Wolfgang rush to Delkfutt's Tower and order all adventurers to stay away. Jeuno scientists in the tower are baffled when the flow of energy in the northern crystal line reverses. An explosion occurs, presumably killing all the scientists. The Ducal Guard find an unconscious boy who survived the explosion and take him to the infirmary in Upper Jeuno.
In the sea to the north of the tower, the ruler of the skies Bahamut emerges from the water. He issues a warning to the children of Vana'diel, stating that the arrival of the Keeper of the Apocalypse is near and calls for his minions to spill the blood of the gods.
Monberaux, the physician in Jeuno, finds the boy uninjured and does not know what is wrong with him. When the player visits the infirmary, the mysterious boy awakens. He gives the player an amulet and shows him a vision of a mysterious place. The Ducal Guard, together with a Jeunoan diplomat Nag'molada, attempt to bring the boy in for questioning but he runs away and vanishes.
The player investigates shattered telepoint crystals at the crags of Holla, Mea and Dem, and is drawn into the dark realm of Promyvion. After climbing to the spire within Promyvion and defeating monstrosities known as the Empty, the player arrives at a giant crystal known as the mothercrystal. Nag'molada arrives and tries to kill the player to prevent harm to the crystal, but is stopped by the mysterious boy who appears and blocks the pursuers with shrouds of darkness.
At the third crag the player arrives at, he is ambushed by Nag'molada and the Ducal Guard who had been waiting for him. Although Wolfgang hesitates on Nag'molada's orders to kill the player, he strikes the mysterious boy down without a fight when he appears. The boy however appears unhurt even after being smote and draws them into Promyvion. When the player reaches the mothercrystal at that crag, Nag'molada claims the enigmatic boy has released Emptiness, a dark destructive force, on the crystal.
Chapter 2: The Isle of Forgotten Saints
After the player defeats the Empty at the mothercrystal, Nag'molada and the player are teleported to a distant land, which they later learn to be the Tavnazian Archipelago. While the player is unconscious, a trio of Tarutarus known as the Chebukki triplets steal the amulet from his possession, thinking it belongs to Prishe, the leader of their settlement. Nag'molada and the player arrive at the Tavnazian Safehold and are greeted by Justinius, who is wary of them but asks them to rest there until Prishe returns.
They meet with an elder, Despachiaire, who explains that he and other survivors from the Tavnazian Marquisate were led to safety by the Cardinal Mildaurion during the war. The survivors have since lived in isolation because the landbridge connecting it to Quon was destroyed. Nag'molada volunteers their aid to slay a minotaur lurking in the nearby Phomiuna Aqueducts in an attempt to gain their trust and confirm his own suspicions about a precious artifact there.
Prishe returns with her good friend Ulmia after making her rounds patrolling the vicinity and informs the town that fierce monsters and a dragon have gathered at Cape Riverne. She meets with the two castaways and agrees to let them stay on account of their good deeds. Prishe returns the player his amulet, which is identical to an amulet she had received from the cardinal. Despachiaire postulates that the dragon that appeared could be Bahamut, as depicted in a painting of the city of Al'Taieu given to them by Grezzo of the Tenshodo.
At Misareaux Coast, Ulmia is singing the first verse of the Lay of the Immortals. When Nag'molada hears this, he is impressed and shares the second verse of the song, also known as the Memoria de la S^tona, with her. He reveals that the song continues with a third verse that is sung only by the gods.
Back in the safehold, Prishe fears Bahamut's appearance signals the opening of the gates to Paradise and intends to confront him in Cape Riverne for answers. She finds out that Nag'molada and the Chebukki triplets have already headed there. Prishe, Ulmia and the player arrive at Cape Riverne to find that it has been spacially distorted. At the Monarch Linn there, Nag'molada sings the Memoria de la S^tona to Bahamut, proving to him that he is a Kuluu. Because of this, Bahamut decides to honor the pact he made with their race ages ago.
An airship of Jeunoan scientists led by a mysterious woman appear and they subdue Bahamut with a magical web. Prishe and the player are attacked by a few mammets that resemble the scientists and defeat them, freeing Bahamut from his binds. In his fury, Bahamut teleports Prishe, Ulmia, the Chebukki triplets and the player away.
In Delkfutt's Tower, Nag'molada meets with the woman, Esha'ntarl, who is revealed to be a Zilart and a fellow member of the Armathrwn Society. She chastises him for approaching Bahamut alone, and blames him for letting Bahamut and the mysterious boy escape.
Chapter 3: A Transient Dream
Prishe and the player regain consciousness in Gustaberg. She blames the airship for what happened and looks for Cid, the engineer who built the airships to find out more. Prishe then heads to Jeuno to look for her old friend Grezzo at the Tenshodo, with hopes that he can ready a boat back to Tavnazia for her.
The player is wanted for treason in Jeuno, but is offered refuge by Aldo in the Tenshodo. Grezzo, who is also Aldo's father, is long gone. However, Aldo agrees to help Prishe return to Tavnazia as he recently received a request to travel to Tavnazia, and can allow her to ride along with the other passenger's consent.
At Ru'Lude Gardens, the player turns himself in to prove his innocence and is met by Esha'ntarl, the duke vicarious. She receives an audience from Tenzen, a messenger from the Far East, who states that the Emptiness is rapidly swallowing the land in the Far East, signalling the return of the Keeper of the Apocalypse. Esha'ntarl suspects the mysterious boy may be the keeper and tasks the player with his capture to prove his innocence. She tells him to seek out the original members of the Allied Expedition for more information to aid his quest.
The Chebukki triplets appear in Windurst and attempt to find their long lost father, going as far as to claim Yoran-Oran and Honoi-Gomoi to be the one. To avoid ridicule from Shantotto and Koru-Moru, Yoran-Oran gets the player to procure a mimeo mirror, an object that can view memories, in order to clear his name. The triplets leave Windurst with the belief that their father is the late Karuha-Baruha and look for Nag'molada in Jeuno.
Ulmia appears in San d'Oria and heads for the cathedral there to find out more about opening the gates to Paradise to no avail. However, she discovers that Cardinal Mildaurion may still be alive. The player meets with Louverance, a descendant of Francmage and learns that the Allied Expedition was originally set up by Bastok.
In Bastok, Cid explains he was the one who got Bastok to send the expedition to the Northlands after being sold a piece of magicite said to be a fragment of the crystal found there. The stone was said to be part of a larger gem known as the Star of Tavnazia.
Back in Jeuno, Nag'molada and the Chebukki triplets prepare to return to Tavnazia by airship. Ulmia makes her way to Jeuno and meets with the player. Prishe suddenly falls unconscious and is taken to the infirmary by Tenzen. Her amulet appears to be missing and she struggles violently in her sleep. The player gives his amulet to Prishe, which stabilizes her condition but does not wake her. Monberaux reports that the boy who gave the player the amulet has been spotted in the ruins of Pso'Xja.
Tenzen and the player try to locate the boy in Pso'Xja but stumble upon the Shrouded Maw where they surprisingly find Prishe lying there. They battle with Diabolos and realize that he has drawn them into his dreamworld. The mysterious boy appears and rescues Prishe from the dream before escaping. Tenzen reveals his blade houses the avatar Phoenix and implores Diabolos to help defeat the Emptiness. Diabolos claims there is no salvation from the Emptiness and offers the dreamworld of Dynamis as an eternal escape from reality, but is refused.
Prishe awakens in Jeuno. Tenzen explains that Diabolos and Phoenix are two of five terrestrial avatars born to protect Vana'diel, along with Carbuncle, Fenrir and Bahamut. Tenzen is revealed to be the one who hired transport to Tavnazia. He invites Prishe and Ulmia to join him on the trip there to seek Bahamut out for answers.
Chapter 4: The Cradles of Children Lost
On arriving at Tavnazia, Despachiaire requests that they visit Bahamut only after Nag'molada returns from the Sacrarium. However, Tenzen wishes to get to Bahamut before the Jeuno army arrives and joins Ulmia, who had gone to seek answers from Bahamut, at Cape Riverne.
Tenzen, Ulmia and the player head to the Monarch Linn, where the wyrmking Bahamut has summoned his minions to prepare for war. Bahamut mocks Tenzen's request for aid and sends Ouryu to attack them. After the player withstands the fury of Ouryu, Bahamut claims that Phoenix is wasting her time trying to defeat the Emptiness and gets her to sing the third verse of the Memoria de la S^tona. When the party recognizes the song, Bahamut is impressed by their knowledge. He reveals that a child who knew the fourth verse of the song made a pact with him to destroy all of mankind, to be fulfilled when the Keeper of the Apocalypse returns. Bahamut then flies away with his wyrms.
The party learns of Bahamut's fierce battle over the opening of the Gates of Paradise in ages past and that the Emptiness is the will of the Twilight God, Promathia. It is said that Promathia cursed mankind for their sins of trying to reach Paradise. Nag'molada blames Tenzen for interfering with the Duchy's plans to stop Bahamut and then requests for the player to bring the amulet he had received to the fourth mothercrystal found below Castle Zvahl.
Ulmia, Tenzen and the player visit Prishe in her quarters where she had been grounded. Prishe reveals that she had an accident as a child after coming into contact with an object deep below the church and has stopped ageing since then. As she is currently wearing the player's amulet, they ask for her to accompany them to the Northlands to track down the boy and find out more about the Emptiness.
Prishe suggests they can just ask Promathia directly in the Sacrarium. They find a statue of Promathia in the reliquiarium there. Prishe holds her hands out to the statue to hear the voice of Promathia and claims the Twilight God desires for his own resurrection, and his own death.
Despachiaire blames Prishe for Tavnazia's misfortune when he learns that she had communed with Promathia. An Elvaan knight by the name of Sir Louverance arrives at Tavnazia. He claims to be sent by the San d'Orian Cathedral to search for the missing cardinal Mildaurion, as she is believed to be involved in the theft of scrolls and scriptures. Louverance offers to take Prishe off Despachiaire's hands in exchange for any knowledge she might be able to share about the cardinal. Ulmia offers to tag along as she feels her knowledge of Memoria de la S^tona, which she first learnt from Cardinal Mildaurion, may prove useful in solving the mysteries that lie before them.
Ulmia, Tenzen and Prishe leave Tavnazia in Louverance's airship bound for San d'Oria.
Chapter 5: The Return Home
The airship arrives at Bastok instead of San d'Oria as it had been loaned from Cid. They convene at the Metalworks to update one another on information about Cardinal Mildaurion, and learn that the Black Magicite from the Northlands had been brought back inside a box that was actually the baptismal vessel that Nag'molada had just stolen from the Sacrarium.
Ulmia, Prishe, Tenzen, Louverance and the player head through the ruins of Pso'Xja in Beaucedine Glacier to arrive at the Vazhl mothercrystal. Nag'molada and the mysterious boy both appear there. Nag'molada reveals that the baptismal vessel is actually the Eye of Altana, used to turn Emptiness into Magicite and that the amulet the boy gave to the player was once given to the Kuluu by the Zilart to contain the darkness and peer into their hearts as they had lost the ability to communicate directly with the mind of another.
The boy is revealed by Nag'molada to be Selh'teus, a Kuluu who he claims to have betrayed everyone and is the sole survivor of Al'Taieu when it was destroyed. When Selh'teus is subdued by Nag'molada, he communicates telepathically with Prishe and gets her to sing the fourth verse of the Memoria de la S^tona, causing the mothercrystal to resonate. This allows Selh'teus the opportunity to escape and touch the mothercrystal, causing Emptiness to spread around it.
The player awakens in Promyvion around the Vahzl mothercrystal, separated from the rest of the party. He rescues Tenzen, Louverance and Ulmia who had all been swallowed by the Emptiness, before arriving at the Spire of Vahzl and joining with Nag'molada in trying to escape this realm. After the player defeats the Empty found there, Diabolos appears along with Prishe. He reveals his discovery that Selh'teus had come from Al'Taieu on a mission to protect the celestial capital, which had not been destroyed as previously thought but rests beyond the fifth mothercrystal. He tasks the player to seek out this crystal to find the truth.
Diabolos explains that all souls are slaves to the will of Promathia and this is why Bahamut has set out to destroy everyone. Prishe resolves to kill the Keeper of the Apocalypse to break Bahamut's pact to destroy mankind.
Escaping from Promyvion, the player reunites with Ulmia, Louverance and Tenzen at Cid's laboratory but Prishe is nowhere to be found. Cid mentions that the Duchy has issued a warrant out for her arrest.
Under the assumption that Selh'teus is the Keeper of the Apocalypse, Louverance, Tenzen and Ulmia each go their separate ways. Louverance plans to return to Tavnazia to investigate the celestial capital of Al'Taieu, Tenzen aims to seek the assistance of the prime avatar Carbuncle, and Ulmia hopes to locate Prishe.
In Tavnazia, Despachiaire explains of a painting that arrived from the Temple of Uggalepih and that it was Cardinal Mildaurion who identified the city depicted in it as Al'Taieu. A group of Mithra had demanded the painting returned to the temple but the Cardinal convinced them to allow it to remain in Tavnazia. He also mentions that a Mithran sin hunter visited the safehold a few days ago.
Louverance seeks out the Mithran chieftainess of Windurst, Perih Vashai, for help. She explains that the Cardinal had struck a deal with the Mithra - that the means to perform the Mithran duty to awaken the sleeping gods had been prepared in Tavnazia. She states that the Mithran sin hunters never forgive a crime and are now pursuing Prishe, which means that even they were unable to locate the Cardinal.
Honoi-Gomoi meets Louverance and passes him the Mimeo Mirror. He relays information about the bounty hunter "Goldmane" who resides on an island in Bibiki Bay. Using the Mimeo Mirror and some coercion, Louverance confronts the bounty hunter Vukki-Chebukki for information. Vukki-Chebukki reveals that he was on a secret mission to find the path to Al'Taieu but discovered that it only opens once every hundred years.
Louverance and the player head to Movalpolos, where Moblins appeared from the depths of Vana'diel around 100 years ago. Louverance postulates that this is the labyrinth from which the statue of Promathia was dug up from and whether it leads to Al'Taieu. Deeper in Movalpolos, they find Selh'teus and Moblins singing praise of Promathia to him. They also meet with a Galka named Jabbos who has been living with the Moblins for a long time.
The Chebukki triplets arrive at Movalpolos and attack the Moblins but are stopped by Jabbos. Selh'teus escapes and the triplets give chase. Jabbos reasons with the Moblins that Selh'teus is not Promathia and that they are not his children. He explains to Louverance that the Moblins had initially been searching for an iron giant bathed in light but instead found a stone statue of Promathia and started believing that they were children of Promathia.
Jabbos claims that the Tavnazian priestess who removed the statue of Promathia from Movalpolos told him that the Moblins were not children of Promathia as he had died long before the beastmen were born. The Moblins then continued to dig in the caves until they found the mothercrystal. Overhearing this, the Moblins are upset that Jabbos betrayed them and say goodbye to him. Jabbos decides to join Louverance in his quest to save mankind from the chains of Promathia.
At La Theine Plateau, Carbuncle appears to Tenzen and the player and explains that he intends to wake the slumbering gods to prevent Promathia from returning. As Carbuncle no longer has strength for battle, he offers the power he once granted to the Kuluu to Phoenix in order to rejuvenate her.
Returning to Jeuno, Tenzen and the player learn that Jeuno is mobilizing the Ducal Guard for an attack on Bahamut before he ambushes the cities of Vana'diel. Monberaux tells Tenzen that Selh'teus was first found within a locked chamber in Delkfutt's Tower and uses his relationship as a childhood friend of Wolfgang to obtain the key for the player.
The player meets with Esha'ntarl who asks for his help to protect the mothercrystals. She believes Prishe's safety is threatened and hopes to find her soon. When Nag'molada argues with the Armathrwn Society over the plan to capture Selh'teus, Esha'ntarl reveals that she possesses the other amulet and beckons Selh'teus to fulfill the pact.
At Delkfutt's Tower, Nag'molada joins Tenzen and the player as they explore the locked chamber containing the Crystal Terminal. Nag'molada explains that the Crystal line connecting the 5 mothercrystals converges here, and that the terminal can be used to control it. He believes that Selh'teus had come here through the Crystal line and finds out through the terminal's records that Selh'teus had been draining light from the mothercrystals, causing the Emptiness to form around them. Nag'molada further reveals that the Emptiness in the Far East was caused not by Selh'teus but the Zilart who had been slowly drawing light from the crystals, claiming that Tenzen had been a puppet of the terrestrial avatars. Tapping into the memory of the terminal, Nag'molada finds out that Esha'ntarl was once a Kuluu like him but removed her Emptiness in the Chamber of Eventide to become a Zilart again.
In his doubt, Tenzen seeks clarification with Phoenix, who tells him to consult with Fenrir in Pso'Xja. There, Fenrir shows Tenzen and the player a vision of 1000 years past. In the vision, Esha'ntarl claims that she would continue Selh'teus's plan to defeat the Keeper of the Apocalypse and requests for Fenrir to divine when and where the Keeper would appear. Fenrir's divination reveals that the Keeper of the Apocalypse will rise 1000 years later in Tavnazia.
In San d'Oria, Ulmia's search for Prishe comes to no avail and attracts the attention of the Mithran Tracker Shikaree X. She learns from the High Priest Chasalvige that the 5 completed verses of the Memoria de la S^tona can be used to call forth the gods. She then heads to Windurst to find Sir Louverance.
At the manor of Yoran-Oran, the Mithran Tracker Shikaree Y confronts the former minister as they suspect he harbors magicite. Prishe appears along with the help of Dr Shantotto and reveals that the magicite is imbedded in her chest. Shikaree Y takes Prishe to Attohwa Chasm to meet with the 2 other Mithran Trackers.
In the Boneyard Gully of Attohwa Chasm, the tracker Shikaree Z, who had met Prishe many years ago, accuses her of crimes committed and demands payment for the sins of Cardinal Mildaurion. The Mithran Trackers attack but are subdued by the player. Prishe discovers from Shikaree Z that the Star of Tavnazia is in the Uleguerand Range and heads there.
At the Bearclaw Pinnacle in Uleguerand Range, Prishe reveals that the Star of Tavnazia was once part of the magicite formed within Prishe and that this was the magicite that poisoned the minds of the members of the Northlands Expedition. The crystal of the beastmen's Divinity of Darkness that once lay here had been shattered, which meant that the completed Lay of the Immortals had been sung in its presence. After defeating the Snoll Tzar that lurks there, Prishe reclaims the Star of Tavnazia and runs off.
At the Metalworks in Bastok, Cid reveals that Bahamut has been found beyond the sea of clouds and is working on an airship that can reach that height. Tenzen and Cid come to the possible conclusion that Prishe might be the Keeper of the Apocalypse. Prishe is spotted in Jeuno, and so they set off for Jeuno to find her.
Chapter 6: Echoes of Time
Chapter 7: In the Light of the Crystal
Chapter 8: Emptiness Bleeds
New Additions
Enemies
This list does not include reskinned enemies of the same genus or unique bosses.
Areas
New Regions
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New Zones
Gameplay Systems
Listed in order of implementation.
- Clamming
- Additional Orb Battles
- Empty Notorious Monsters (ENM)
- Lumoria NM System
- Limbus
- Dreamworld Dynamis
- Brenner
- Voidwatch
CoP also allows the player to challenge Diabolos and acquire his summon, though this possibility was not present when the expansion first came out.
Chains of Promathia was once considered the hardest expansion in the game.The vast majority of the areas must be unlocked, and many of the areas have a level restriction on them, not to mention enemies that can see/hear through stealth effects. Out of all expansions, it involves the most amount of battlefields and NM fights that need to be won. In spite of this, Chains of Promathia is known by some to be the most epic storyline in Final Fantasy XI.
As of the June 2010 update, the level caps of the Chains of Promathia areas and mission battlefield events have been lifted, and now only apply to empty notorious monster (ENM) battles and Chains of Promathia quests with level restrictions such as "The Big One" and "Return to the Depths". Provided a character is sufficiently leveled, many early missions can now be completed solo with relative ease. Many later missions, however, are still designed to provide a challenge for groups of high level players.
Music
Final Fantasy XI: Chains of Promathia Original Soundtrack
Chains of Promathia sees new music being introduced for areas and battles within the expansion. As with the previous expansion, all new music is composed and arranged by Naoshi Mizuta with exception of three tracks that are arranged versions of riffs taken from "Memoro de la Ŝtono", which is composed by Nobuo Uematsu.
This expansion also sees the return of Uematsu to Final Fantasy XI in the form of vocal track "Distant Worlds", featuring opera soprano Izumi Masuda, which serves as the theme song for the title.
Once Chains of Promathia is installed, a new track "Unity" is played once, in place of the "Vana'diel March" on the Final Fantasy XI title screen. This introduction of new title screen music will become a tradition that continues on with subsequent expansion packs.
Unlike with the previous expansion, not all new tracks were added with the release of the expansion but were included in subsequent version updates. Starting from 2 tracks in this expansion, all music files added to the game would also be encoded in ATRAC.
A number of tracks used in the Chains of Promathia expansion are not featured in the Original Soundtrack but have since been released on the Unreleased Tracks disc in the Final Fantasy XI Original Soundtrack Premium Box.
Gallery
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Trivia
- Chains of Promathia has a reputation among players as being the hardest expansion in Final Fantasy XI. At its release, the content for the missions were so hard that only a handful of players were able to progress through the story. This difficulty would subsequently be reduced in various ways in later version updates, such as by removing EXP loss and lifting the level cap imposed on mission battlefields.
- Chains of Promathia is well remembered by players as having one of the longest storylines in Final Fantasy XI. The sheer number of characters, story arcs and extensive cut-scenes with detailed storytelling were also unprecedented in the game at the time of its release.
External Links
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