The Sims 3 Ambitions Guide Essentials The Sims 3 Primer
Wishes
It is through wishes that Sims feel both fulfilled and productive, but not all wishes are equal. In fact, there are other ways to define a Sim's life besides Lifetime Wishes.
The day-to-day desires of Sims are also very important, such as the desire to chat with another Sim or learn a new recipe.
These smaller wishes commonly factor into the overarching Lifetime Wish, and also help with skill development and the career advancement.
Fulfilling a promised wish to a Sim results in the acquisition of Lifetime Happiness points. The reward is not nearly as much as a Lifetime Wish, but the points from fulfilling smaller wishes really add up over time.
Making Wishes Come True
Almost as soon as your Sims move into their new houses, they start expressing wishes and desires via the Wish panel at the bottom of the screen.
Sims can have up to four active wishes at any time and express one in the arched bubble above the Wish panel. To promise a new wish to a Sim, left-click on it. That moves it into the Wish panel.
If you find an incoming wish more appealing than a promised wish but have no more empty slots, right-click on one of promised wishes to remove it. There is no penalty for getting rid of a promised wish.
The Wish Panel
Once added to the Wish panel, a wish stays there until it is either fulfilled or denied. The number of Lifetime Happiness points for a promised wish do not deteriorate over time either.
If you hold on to the Have a Baby wish for several days before attempting to fulfill it, it is still worth the same number of Lifetime Happiness points as the first moment it appeared.
Wishes are not universal. Every Sim wants different things, although you may see similar wishes appear within Sims in the same household that have similar traits, skills, or careers.
Ages also affect the wishes, as a child will want different things than an adult. It is also important to note that some promised wishes disappear when a Sim ages up.
Because the Sim is moving into a new age group and possibly gaining a new trait that affects personality, that Sim is likely to have totally different desires.
Lifetime Happiness Points
Whether you accumulate Lifetime Happiness points by boosting mood up into the bubble or by fulfilling wishes, they all go into the same pot.
These Lifetime Happiness points can then be traded for Lifetime Rewards, which are a collection of special objects, skill modifiers, or personality tweaks that can make your Sim's life easier or send it spiraling into an entirely new direction.
Lifetime Rewards
| Lifetime Reward | Cost | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Steel Bladder | 10,000 | Never have to go pee |
| Change Lifetime Wish | 10,000 | Pick a new Lifetime Wish to replace current one |
| Dirt Defiant | 15,000 | Hygiene concerns be gone! |
| Hardly Hungry | 25,000 | Don't have to eat as often |
| Professional Slacker | 5,000 | Does not lose career performance for using the Slack Off tone at work |
| Speedy Cleaner | 5,000 | Sim can clean objects faster |
| Fast Metabolism | 5,000 | Change body shape faster |
| Multi-Tasker | 10,000 | Increased career performance / Do homework faster |
| Extra Creative | 30,000 | Paintings are always higher-than-average quality |
| Acclaimed Author | 30,000 | Increased royalty checks (from Writing) |
| Super-Green Thumb | 20,000 | Harvestables are of universally higher quality |
| Never Dull | 15,000 | Always interesting (never boring when socializing) |
| Discount Diner | 5,000 | Free restaurant meals |
| Complimentary Entertainment | 5,000 | Free theater shows |
| Bookshop Barginer | 10,000 | Cheaper books |
| Office Hero | 5,000 | Popular w/ peers (Increased Relationship Gain during "Hang with Co-Workers") |
| Vacationer | 15,000 | Reduce performance decay for missing work |
| Legendary Host | 5,000 | Everyone Invited shows up to your parties and they have a higher quality |
| Haggler | 15,000 | Permanent shopping discount (at stores) |
| Long Distance Friend | 20,000 | No relationship decay when apart from LTRs |
| Fast Learner | 15,000 | Develop skills faster |
| Attractive | 10,000 | Sims with appropriate preference start in a high relationship to you |
| Observant | 5,000 | Instantly learn traits when socializing (tunable number of traits learned) |
| Opportunistic | 10,000 | Increase opportunity rewards (earn 2x reward) |
| Fertility Treatment | 10,000 | Increases chance of conception and chance of twins or triplets |
| Mid-life Crisis | 20,000 | Change traits |
| Collection Helper | 40,000 | This adds marks on Map View that help spot collectibles like metals and beetles |
| Body Sculptor | 30,000 | Instantly change body shape with this wish |
| Mood Modifier | 60,000 | Remove negative moodlets...most of the time |
| Food Replicator | 50,000 | Freely duplicate meals without the shopping or cooking time |
| Teleportation Pad | 75,000 | Quick way of getting from home to specific destinations |