Sims Skills

Explore all 18 skills in The Sims 4: Royalty & Legacy. Learn how to level up, unlock new actions, and improve your Sim's quality of life and career.

The Sims 4 features 18 distinct skills that your Sims can master. Learning a skill unlocks new actions and improves the quality of related activities. Skill levels can be increased by reading skill books or by repeatedly performing the skill-related action. A progress bar appears overhead as you gain levels, and each skill has 10 levels. Skills generally unlock new interactions and enhance the quality of your Sim's actions, such as catching better fish or mixing superior drinks. A Sim's current mood can also accelerate skill progression.

The table below provides a brief overview of each skill:

Note that because a level-up doesn't always provide a noteworthy benefit, only a few of the choice level-ups for each skill are listed below as major goals.

Charisma:

Charisma is beneficial for Sims who engage in frequent social interactions, as it improves relationship building speed. It is a valuable skill for any Sim, regardless of their traits or career, and complements the basic need for Social Interaction.

To level up Charisma, Sims can practice speaking in front of a mirror. While chatting with other Sims or reading skill books also increases Charisma, these methods are slower. As Sims level up, more mirror interactions become available. Sims with at least level 5 Charisma can start a social network on a computer, allowing them to upload viral videos or images to gain followers, which further boosts skill gain without additional rewards beyond the Charisma increase itself.

• Level 1: Learn traits of other Sims at a faster rate
• Level 3: Donate to Online Charity, Practice Pick-up Lines in Mirror
• Level 5: Start Social Network on Computer
• Level 7: Ask Sim for a Small Loan
• Level 9: Ask Sim for a Large Loan
• Level 10: Upload Viral Video, Call Boss to Negotiate Promotion

Comedy:

Comedy is similar to Charisma but offers more monetary benefits. Both skills complement each other, making it advantageous to level both. Sims can eventually perform comedy routines for money, and their social interactions become more humorous. Traits like "goofball" can enhance social interaction skills, which are helpful for Comedy.

Begin leveling Comedy by writing jokes on a computer, ideally while in a playful mood (achieved through activities like bubble baths). This will unlock the ability to write and perform comedy routines at a nightclub. Short, medium, and long routines can earn 75, 125, and 200 simoleons, respectively. These earnings do not increase with skill level but can be improved by refining the routine's quality to "Excellent" through computer interaction.

• Level 2: Tell Knock Knock Jokes to other Sims
• Level 3: Compose short routine on computer, Perform short routine on microphone
• Level 5: Practice Comedy Routine/Refine Comedy Routine
• Level 6: Compose Medium length versions of routines in Level 3
• Level 7: Write Comedy Books on Computer
• Level 8: Composer Long versions of routines in Level 6
• Level 10: Improvise Routines on a microphone

Cooking:

Cooking is a highly valuable skill that improves the quality of meals. Higher quality meals provide greater satiety, more positive moodlets, and can even allow Sims to revive deceased Sims with the skill's ultimate recipe, Ambrosia. Most skill levels unlock new recipes, with key milestones detailed below.

It's recommended to cook while inspired, perhaps after a "thoughtful shower." Attempting more complex recipes tends to raise skill levels faster. At level 5, Sims can begin cooking "gourmet meals" instead of standard ones, which is a recommended focus. While skill books can be used, active cooking is generally a more efficient method for skill progression.