Trait (The Sims 3)

Traits are the building blocks of a personality assigned to Sims in The Sims 3, replacing the previous system of personality points. The traits also appear in The Sims Medieval; this time, traits are adapted to the Medieval period. Traits effectively determine a Sim's behaviors, abilities, and their wishes, including their Lifetime Wishes. There are 63 traits in the base game. Three were added with World Adventures, six with Ambitions, one with Fast Lane Stuff, two with Late Night, two with Generations, four with Pets, three with Showtime, six with Supernatural, two with Seasons, three with University Life, two with Island Paradise, and two with Into the Future, adding up to a total of 116 normal traits, and 24 hidden traits.

Each trait is separated into one of four categories based on mental, physical, social, or lifestyle aspects of Sims' lives. For example, social traits may include Dislikes Children or Friendly, while lifestyle traits would consist of Technophobe or Daredevil. Traits are used to allow Sims a greater complexity in their daily routines over the points system. The more traits a Sim has, the more complex they will be, as a Sim with more personality traits will exhibit a wider range of behaviors than a Sim with only one.

Sims can attain traits in multiple ways. Ordinarily the player will assign a maximum of five traits to a young adult or older Sim in the Create a Sim screen under the "Personality" section. Traits can also be inherited via genetics from either parent, with babies and toddlers having two traits. If the toddler grows up well, the player will be able to choose a third trait for when the Sim becomes a child, and likewise a fourth when the Sim becomes a teen and finally a fifth trait when the Sim becomes a young adult. Furthermore, the Lifetime Reward "Midlife Crisis" allows the player to re-choose a Sim's traits.

There are limitations on the traits a Sim can have. Foremost, two traits may not contradict each other, such as the Good and Evil traits, or the Can't Stand Art and Artistic traits. Such traits are inherently built around opposing behaviors and intrinsically preclude the occurrence of the other. In addition, Sims may be unable to obtain traits based on their age; one example being that babies are unable to have the Charismatic trait or that only teens and older sims can have the Hopeless Romantic trait.

Traits also grant Sims different abilities or specific actions which only Sims having those traits can do. Insane Sims are able to use the command "Talk to Self" to boost their own social motive, while vegetarian Sims are able to cook vegetarian alternatives to meals containing meat (though in Showtime, all Sims are able to cook these meals, regardless of traits). Some traits can grant Sims special moodlets, with loner Sims enjoying their solitude or hydrophobic Sims fearing swimming in the pool. Other traits allow Sims a greater affinity for certain tasks, such as angler Sims being more adept at fishing while genius Sims tend to learn more quickly. In this respect, the customization that players give to Sims via the trait system can make the game more or less challenging while offering a greater deal of specific variety which the more simplified point system found in the game's predecessors lacked.

Features comparable to traits in previous games in the series are Zodiac signs and interests.

Learning traits
As Sims socialize with others, they may reveal their traits from certain interactions. For example, asking a Sim's career will reveal if they have Workaholic or Ambitious traits, or flirting with a Sim will reveal Flirty or Unflirty trait. Learning traits can be beneficial to Sims. If the Sim has the same trait as the other Sim, they will get a compatibility trait as well as a relationship boost. On the other hand, if they have any conflicting traits, they will get a negative relationship.

Learning traits is very important for Architectural Designer profession. Learning a client's traits is important in order to satisfy their desired objects, such as placing bars for Party Animal clients, which will boost the scores. Aside from socializing, Sims can easily learn other Sims' traits from several methods:
 * Perceptive trait has 35% chance of learning a trait while socializing
 * Completing the Personable Charisma skill challenge will allow Sims to learn traits easier
 * Observant lifetime reward allows Sims to instantly learn 3 random traits of a Sim
 * Sims who work in Journalism career can interview Sims, which will let them learn all their traits
 * Vampires can read Sims' minds and learn their traits
 * Genies can ensorcel Sims outside the household to freely control them. Sometimes, the household members will randomly learn the ensorcelled Sim's traits
 * Aliens can scan Sims and learn their traits

Hidden traits
Hidden traits are traits in The Sims 3 that cannot be seen in-game except when a Sim performs a related action autonomously or an unlocked interaction is available.

Hidden traits become available to Sims in specific careers, life states, or to babies with an NPC for a parent. The child might then get the appropriate hidden trait

Additional traits
Sims are born with two traits, and gain an additional trait on aging up from toddler to child, from child to teen, and from teen to young adult. Therefore, a fully-grown Sim has five traits. With University Life, it is possible to earn two additional traits, for a total of seven traits. The trait panel will still show only five traits, but when a Sim has more than five, a scroll bar will appear next to the traits.

The two additional traits are earned by:
 * 1) Completing a major / graduating from university. This trait slot has a red border.
 * 2) Reaching level 8 of a social group. This trait slot has a yellow border.

Sims cannot earn the extra trait slots multiple times, for example, by reaching level 8 in all social groups or completing multiple majors. If the requirement to earn an additional trait slot is completed more than once, a prompt will appear that will allow reconfirmation or replacement of the additional trait.

Removed traits
There are a number of traits that were removed before the game was released. Some of them might be removed because they share similar purpose with an existing trait, or might raise the ESRB rating, while some others were removed unexplained. Some removed traits have their own icons in the game files, while some are only mentioned in the old game strings.