Skill
Skills are talents that Sims need in their everyday life and to advance in their working career.
In The Sims, only adults can earn skill points. In The Sims 2 however, any age group from Toddler onwards can gain at least some skills. Toddlers also learn to walk, talk, and be potty trained.
Also in The Sims 2 certain aspiration reward objects such as the Smart Milk, Thinking Cap and SimVac can also aid in the building of skills, as do the career reward objects which each focus on one skill, and all 7 main skills (Cooking, Cleaning, Mechanical, Logic, Creativity, Body, and Charisma) are covered by at least one object.
In The Sims 3, skills have have been expanded, and something roughly similar to the talent badges from The Sims 2 has been worked into the skilling system. Skills still have 10 levels of proficiency. Sims who have maxed out any skill receive a certificate which could be sold for §1,000 (price will drop after some time) or hung up proudly on their wall. The interface for The Sims 3 was redesigned, so that information about a skill, statistics and challenges can now be found in the skill journal. Additionally, classes in all the skills can be taken at various Community buildings. Another difference is from previous games is that Sims can learn skills on any lot. Previously, Sims could not gain skills on community lots, though some expansion packs for The Sims 2 had limited exceptions to this.
Skills by game
The following Skills can be learned:
| Skill | The Sims | The Sims 2 | The Sims 3 | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooking | X | X | X | Child and older |
| Mechanical/Handiness | X | X | X | Toddler[TS2:FT] and older |
| Charisma | X | X | X | Toddler and older |
| Body/Athletic | X | X | X | Toddler[TS2:FT] and older |
| Logic | X | X | X | Toddler and older |
| Creativity | X | X | Toddler and older | |
| Cleaning | X | Child and older | ||
| Walking | X | X | Toddler only | |
| Talking | X | X | Toddler only | |
| Potty Training | X | X | Toddler only | |
| Study | X | Child or Teen | ||
| Dancing | X | Child and older | ||
| Painting | X | X | Child and older | |
| Meditation | X | Teen and older | ||
| Pool Playing | X | Teen and older | ||
| Yoga | X | Teen and older | ||
| Parenting | X[TS2:FT] | Teen and older | ||
| Fire Prevention | X[TS2:AL] | Teen and older | ||
| Anger Management | X[TS2:AL] | Teen and older | ||
| Lifelong Happiness | X[TS2:AL] | Teen and older | ||
| Physiology | X[TS2:AL] | Teen and older | ||
| Couple Counselling | X[TS2:AL] | Teen and older | ||
| Guitar | X | Teen and older | ||
| Fishing | Talent badge | X | Child and older | |
| Writing | X | Child and older | ||
| Gardening | Talent badge | X | Teen and older | |
| Photography | X[TS3:WA] | Child and older | ||
| Nectar Making | X[TS3:WA] | Teen and older | ||
| Martial Arts | X[TS3:WA] | Teen and older | ||
| Sculpting | X[TS3:A] | |||
| Tattooing | X[TS3:A] | |||
| Inventing | X[TS3:A] |
Skill benefits
A few examples of Skills that are needed in everyday life:
- When Sims know how to cook they won't burn their food (or even set the whole kitchen on fire) as often.
- If a Sim is experienced in Mechanical, they can repair broken things in the household faster and the chance of electrocution while repairing e.g. a Trash Compactor or TV decreases significantly. This is particularly useful in The Sims 2, since it can mean not having to wait for the repairman to come.
- Sims with high Charisma tell better stories and Jokes and are not too likely to be rejected for these interactions by other Sims they might want to make friends with.
- Sims will clean things in the household a little faster if they gained enough cleaning skill (although some think it also depends on the neatness of each Sim)
- The Body skill of a Sim is built by using treadmills, weights, or swimming. When Sims are fat, they can train and not only get thin, but also stronger. When two Sims fight with each other, it is said that the Sim with the higher Body skill is more likely to win the fight.
- The creativity skill, when high enough, will lead to Sims who create masterpieces on the easel that sell for a lot of money (in Sims 3, up to several thousand simoleons for master painters) or novels (in Sims 3, a masterpiece by a truly talented and experienced writer can fetch over 10,000 per royalty payment, which adds up to over 70,000 simoleons). Sims with high music skill can earn tips when they play an instrument in front of an audience; in Sims 3, a virtuoso with maxed out guitar skill can make a couple of thousand simoleons per session.
- If your sim has every skill maxed they will also begin a career half way into it. Also when you pick up a job at this stage the career reward becomes immediately available, enabling you to achieve all the rewards within a few days.
- Perfecting a skill unlocks new abilities; for example, a high Logic skill lets a Sim tutor other Sims, new Cooking skill levels unlock new recipes, and new Fishing skill levels let your Sim catch new types of fish.[TS3]
- Sims get a Power Study moodlet if they study at the Library.[TS3]
Skill journal
This section describes features that are only available in The Sims 3.
You do not see the skill in your bar until you unlock the first point. You can then view the skill journal. For example, in the Athletic skill journal you have your statistics: hours of cardio workout, hours of strength workout, distance jogged.
Various challenges are also available in the skill journal. For example, in the Painting skill journal, a challenge to paint thirty paintings is available. When completed, the Sim earns a reward of being able to paint significantly faster than normal Sims.
There are multiple skill challenges for each and every skill, as well as collections. All of them earn some kind of benefit, such as quicker completion, better results, etc.
With the Sims 3:Ambitions the Skill Journal now also shows hidden skills that a sim has learned.
Community lot skill buildings
This section describes features that are only available in The Sims 3.
There are certain places you can go to learn each skill:
- Athletic - Llama Memorial Stadium
- Charisma - City Hall
- Cooking - Hogan's Deep-Fried Diner or Little Corsican Bistro
- Fishing - EverFresh Delights Supermarket
- Gardening - Science lab
- Guitar - Wilsonoff Community Theatre
- Handiness - Military base
- Logic - Landgraab Industries Science Facility
- Martial Arts[TS3:WA] - Phoenix Academy
- Painting - Community School for the Gifted
- Writing - Doo Peas Corporate Tower
These lessons take a few hours to complete, cost 320 - 400 simoleons and are available to Teens and above. They are also a much more efficient way to train skills, due to their price. You can only be trained once for each skill. You'll need to use other methods (read books, practice, etc) after you're finished with the class.
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