Expansion? This should've been called a patch.
Incredibly challenging missions and quests that often requires 6 to 18 people who are well cordinated and planned while knowing what to do in order to complete these incredibly challenging missions and quests.
Leveling is also much more difficult than other MMORPG. It requires 6 members with precise job combination and proper equipments in order to level properly in reasonable rate.
Added to this, with great need of proper equipments, getting these equipments is near impossible due to difficulties of earning money and rarities of these equipments. You need it to level properly without dragging your party down, but in order to do so you will need to spend countless hours just trying to make money.
Also, not only that, getting a party is just really long wait. Unless you are particular job that will get many party invites, you will rarely get invited for party causing you many frustration in order to level.
Now Chains of Promathia is out and adding far greater frustration to the fans that was already frustrating to begin with.
CoP never really feels like expansion. It is certainly not worthy of your precious money, but unfortunately it will be pretty much required to play this game due to many already playing gamers to expect you to have it. CoP includes NO NEW JOBs which is the greatest disappointment for the fans and could've been biggest selling point for the game. Jobs are the best part about this game and not including new jobs for expansion is critical and biggest reason why fans are so upset about this expansion.
Also many of the areas in the game is not accesible right away. Very odd considering fans paid money to get to those areas, but not allowed to go. Very few areas are open for to go when you initially get the game, and many of these areas have level cap. So if you are level 75, too bad you will be level 30 or 40 when you enter these areas. It wouldn't be as big of problem if you can use your equipments, but equipments are also based on levels. If you are level 30 you can't use level 70 equipments so just to explore these areas you need to BUY PROPER EQUIPMENTS for the level. This is HUGE problem in this game because money is very precious. Also with lack of storage room and different equipments for jobs this game has, it creates huge problems for the players to manage all these items and earing money for these missions. Which is directly related to following problem.
Most of the new areas in this expansion can only be avaliable when you finish CoP missions. These missions are so cruel it is almost sadistic. It makes you think that there are many sadistic people who are developing these games and laugh at feeble attempts by players to finish these missions. Very very cruel. Also most of these missions are located in new areas that has level cap. If you are level 75? too bad. go back to level 30 and suffer through these missions with fellow players. Have you been bad boy and no one likes you? too bad, because you need other people's help to go through this missions.
Unfortunately, THAT'S ALL CoP OFFERS. That's it. No more. Nothing other than that they offer to you. New Areas, way too difficult missions, new monsters from the new areas and new equipments and items dropped from these new monsters. There is one other significant thing that CoP offers and that is new Avatar Diabolos.
Also these areas are fairly small and with only one ugly town, there really isn't much offered in this expansion to be considered as expansion. It could've easily been just another patch instead of making fans pay 30 dollars more for these. What's most frustrating is that most of great equipments they newly released is ALL FROM DEEPEST PART of these new areas. considering so many of NMs that drops these items pops so rarely, it just addes even more frustration to the fans.
This is by far the worst thing SE has done to their fans. Yes it worse than Final Fantasy 8, the missing 2 chapters of Xenogears, and almost bad as Full Metal Alchemist anime they made. CoP it just a torture, and it's a torture that is required to stay in the world of Vana'Diel.
Not only this expansion don't worth your money, it is pretty much required. Not only this expansion is required to play, it is also extremely difficult to finish the missions provided in this expansion.
The only saving grace for this expansion is that the new areas does look pretty sometimes. Some areas are creative and often beautiful to look at. Also the story is more interesting than many of other MMORPG, but not that interesting. If it's story you want, you would be better off playing Matrix Online, another RPG that actually has interesting story to be involved with.
Final Fantasy XI is worthy game to play and although frustrating, but unique and enjoyable nonetheless. I already wrote the review of it so you can ready that Final Fantasy XI is indeed great MMORPG. However, this expansion is perhaps one of the worst thing a person can do to others. This is not an expansion of a game. This is a torture.