Trait (The Sims 3)

Trait (The Sims 3)

A Sim demonstrates the "Absent-Minded" Trait via posturing in the Create a Sim mode when the Trait is selected.

Traits are the building blocks of personality assigned to Sims in The Sims 3, replacing the previous system of personality points. Traits effectively determine a Sim's behaviors, abilities, and their wishes, including their array of Lifetime Wishes. There are 63 traits in the base game. Three were added with The Sims 3: World Adventures, six added with The Sims 3: Ambitions, one with The Sims 3: Fast Lane Stuff and two with The Sims 3: Late Night for a total of 75 traits and 13 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 parents, 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 so on). 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.

Traits also grant Sims different abilities, or specific actions which only Sims of 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. 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 better 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.

List of Traits

See also: List of Traits

List of Traits	Mental	Physical	Social	Lifestyle	Hidden
The Sims 3	Absent-Minded Artistic Bookworm Can't Stand Art Computer Whiz Excitable Genius Green Thumb Handy Insane Natural Cook Neurotic Virtuoso	Athletic Brave Clumsy Couch Potato Coward Heavy Sleeper Hydrophobic Light Sleeper Lucky Neat Never Nude Slob Unlucky	Charismatic Commitment Issues File:DislikesChildren.jpgDislikes Children Easily Impressed Flirty Friendly Good Sense of Humor Great Kisser Grumpy Hopeless Romantic Inappropriate Loner Loser Mean Spirited Mooch No Sense of Humor Party Animal Schmoozer Snob Unflirty	Ambitious Angler Childish Daredevil Evil Family-Oriented Frugal Good Hates the Outdoors Hot-Headed Kleptomaniac Loves the Outdoors Over-Emotional Perfectionist Technophobe Vegetarian Vehicle Enthusiast^{[n 1]} Workaholic	Burglar Can Apprehend Burglar Can Salute Immune to Fire Makes No Messes Pizza Appreciator Pyromaniac Rocker
64 traits + 8 hidden traits	13 traits	13 traits	20 traits	18 traits	8 traits
World Adventures	Photographer's Eye	Disciplined		Adventurous	Asian Culture Egyptian Culture French Culture Mummy
Ambitions	Eccentric Perceptive Savvy Sculptor		Born Salesperson Dramatic	Eco-Friendly	SimBot PrivateEye
Late Night			Shy	Star Quality	Vampire
75 traits + 15 hidden traits	17 traits	14 traits	23 traits	21 traits	15 traits

Notes

↑ Available in both Patch 15 and The Sims 3: Fast Lane Stuff

Removed Traits

Below are the traits that were removed before the game was released, possibly because they would have caused a higher ESRB rating, or were too similar to certain traits.