Summary
The Sims 2presents an idyllic world in which simulated people go about their lives growing, earning, and building their homes as they see fit. In order to advance their aspirational goals, they will need to build skills, which they can do passively or through study.
While different players may have different objectives, some skills generally come in more useful than others. In certain situations, one may be essential. However, all Sims have universal needs, and some skills serve them more than others.
7Logic
Chessboxing And Mindful Transformation
Sims with high Logic are likely to beat other Sims in a game of chess. While Logic is a requirement of many careers, unlike real life, the politics, business, law enforcement, and medical jobs aren’t the highest paying, even at the top. Logic is useful for players who find themselvesfrustrated by the passage of timewilting their Sims' moods. At Logic level three, Sims will gain the ability to meditate, which freezes their needs in place.
Meditating for several hours allows Sims to teleport around the lot, another ability that is useful in a few niche situations. Other than that, Sims will become better at chess games. Logic’s main benefit is actually gained by building the skill, as using a telescope grants Sims a chance to discover new star systems, yielding around a pile of simoleons per find.
6Body
Not Just For Show (But Mostly For Show)
Players who enjoy pitting their Sims against others will find that the Body skill offers the benefit of making them more likely to win in a scrap. Sims who enjoy hurting others with their muscles may be naturally drawn to the criminal, athletic, military, and law enforcement careers, which all have Body as a required skill.
Additionally, some objects have body requirements to get any use out of, such as the dance sphere, snowboard pipe, or mechanical bull. Sims with a high Body skill level will also fare better at holding down vomit or pulling off spectacular dives in the pool. Without resorting toThe Sims 2’s skill cheatsto get fit, Sims will need to use the various exercise machines available in the hobby tab, or go swimming.
5Creativity
The Artful Art Of Artfulness
Sims with a talent for freelancing and street performance will benefit from Creativity. There are many ways to raise the skill, from writing novels to painting on an easel to playing musical instruments. The business, culinary, politics, slacker, and criminal career tracks also have this skill as a progression requirement.
Playful Sims may not be able to boost their Logic as well as serious Sims, but they have an advantage with Creativity. With high Creativity and a high Painting skill (although this skill is hidden), Sims can make serious money by producingworks of high art. At the highest levels, this is the best way to make money in The Sims 2, with the caveat that it can get a little repetitive.
4Mechanical
Fine-Tuned Machinery, Fine-Tuned Life
There’s nothing deadlier to hapless Sims inThe Sims 2than a broken electronic object. Learning a couple of levels of Mechanical is apparently required for Sims to understand that they need to unplug objects before applying a screwdriver to a live wire.
Without any mechanical knowledge, Sims will need to replace broken objects (at a great personal cost) or hire a repairman, which still means bleeding simoleons. Studying the skill, tuning pianos or grandfather clocks, and fixing plumbing (sinks, showers, toilets) is a safe way for Sims to improve.
3Cleaning
Life Is Messy, But It Need Not Be So
Besides being a fairly common requirement in some ofThe Sims 2’s highest-paid careers(including intelligence and education), cleaning is something that Sims of all stripes will have to contend with often. With a limited lifespan, it is better to be able to clear up a mess quickly rather than spend all day wiping down surfaces like counters, showers, or toilets.
Of course, a maid can help with cleaning up, but more money brings more problems. A larger house means that even the maid will struggle to clear up before sunset. Reading books from the bookshelf and attending to messes will improve this skill.
2Charisma
Winning Over The World With Words
For Sims who are uninterested in climbing the career ladder, Charisma is solely a tool forwinning in popularity contests, as it increases the chances of social interactions going smoothly. However, every single job inThe Sims 2requires the maintenance of friends, and building this skill early will speed up the process of making them.
Sims with low charisma will find that building relationships with low charisma is an uphill battle. Potential friends will quickly become bored and leave, whereas charismatic Sims can simply flash a smile and win the moment. Mirrors and “practice speech/romance” are the only ways to increase Charisma, but the business and political reward objects boost the skill once obtained.
1Cooking
Sims Are What They Eat
Hunger is a universal fact of life inThe Sims 2. Players who command Sims with low cooking abilities may find themselves experiencing the frustrating cycle of having to cook meals and eat several of them just to satiate one Sim’s hunger meters.Cooking can be funfor its own sake, but frustrating at a low skill level.
Hunger is one of the most difficult needs to balance, as food cannot be turned into a leftover and quickly spoils. Cookbooks and TV cooking channels are easily available ways to improve the skill. A Sim with a high cooking skill in the early game not only produces more nutritious meals but prepares them faster, leaving more time for more important activities.
