Just like real people, Sims in The Sims 4 have essential needs that must be met to keep them happy, healthy, and alive. Neglect them, and your Sim will descend into unhappiness—or even death. Fortunately, these needs aren’t too difficult to manage. With the right strategies, rewards, and a bit of planning, your Sim can live a happy (and long) life. Here’s a breakdown on each of your Sim’s needs, what happens if you ignore them, and how to manage them.
1. Hunger
How to manage it: Make your Sim eat food
Perks that help:
- Hardly Hungry (4,000 points): Hunger decays slowly
- Forever Full (10,000 points): Hunger never decreases
Hunger is the most urgent need. Let it deplete all the way, and your Sim could die of starvation—or, if it’s a child, get taken away by Child Protective Services. Fortunately, it’s easy to feed your Sim. A snack or full meal will do.
2. Energy
How to fulfill it: Sleep or drink caffeine
Perks that help:
- Seldom Sleepy (4,000 points): Energy depletes more slowly
- Never Weary (10,000 points): Sleep is no longer required
Sleep is essential. Your Sim will be sluggish, unproductive, and slower to learn skills without it. When energy drops to zero, they’ll pass out—usually harmless, unless they happen to be in a pool. Then it’s game over.
Coffee offers a temporary energy boost, and Vampires have some other rest options like coffins or dark meditation. Fully upgraded Vampires may not even need sleep at all.
3. Bladder
How to manage it: Use a toilet
Perks that help:
- Steel Bladder (2,000 points): Bladder empties very slowly
- Shameless (2,000 points): Sim isn’t humiliated if they have an accident
When nature calls, your Sim should respond. If not, accidents occur—and they’ll be dirty, stinky, and humiliated. Food consumption influences bladder need, so benefits that suppress hunger likewise indirectly assist here.
4. Hygiene
How to control it: Shower, bathe, or brush teeth
Benefits that assist:
- Antiseptic (3,000 points): Hygiene decays more slowly
- Forever Fresh (8,000 points): Hygiene never decreases
Hygiene decreases with everyday activities like workouts, WooHoo, and accidents. A bath is the quickest fix, but tooth-brushing or washing hands can provide small boosts. If you have the Laundry Day pack, your Sim’s clothes can also get dirty—so don’t forget the washing machine.
5. Fun
How to manage it: Engage in enjoyable activities
Perks that help:
- Carefree (2,000 points): Prevents tension from low fun
A bored Sim is a stressed Sim. Luckily, entertainment is one of the easiest needs to fulfill. Sims enjoy gaming, sports, swimming, music, and hobbies. Choose activities they like (determined in Create-a-Sim), and they’ll do them on their own fairly regularly.
6. Social
How to control it: Talk with other Sims—or even with the toilet
Perks that help:
- Independent (2,000 points): Social need decays more slowly
- Needs No One (5,000 points): Sim no longer requires social
Your Sim will get sad and lonely if they don’t receive any social for too long. In-person talking is best, but social media, phone calls, or online chatting also qualify. Want to be a total hermit? There’s even a talking toilet that counts as a conversationalist.
Special Needs for Occult Sims
Vampires
Special needs: Thirst (in place of hunger), Sunlight exposure
How to manage:
- Drink plasma (plasma fruit, packs, or from Sims)
- Stay out of the sun or use an umbrella
Vampire perks:
- Tamed Thirst (max level): Thirst no longer results in bad behavior
- Sun Resistance (Level 4+): Vampires can walk during the day
Vampires need plasma, not meals. Feeding on Sims hurts your reputation, so plasma packs or growing plasma fruit are worth a look. And as for sunlight, stay inside or purchase an umbrella—or unlock Sun Resistance to be free to walk about during the day.
Mermaids
Special need: Hydration (replaces hygiene)
How to control: Bathe, swim, or drink water (not hot tubs)
Useful perk: Forever Fresh also prevents hydration decay
Hydration is what enables mermaids to use their powers. Failure to hydrate will not be the end of them, but it will make them stressed and strip them of their powers. The remedy is easy: just get into contact with water in any form or shape.
Final Tips
It becomes easier to control your Sim’s needs as time goes on. Lifetime Rewards are especially useful for minimizing micromanagement. Whether you want to automate survival or roleplay in-depth, needs mastery is the key to a long and prosperous Sim life.
Happy Simming—and don’t starve them!