This means that your Sim wants to do something to try and get over their fear. If your Sim currently has a Fear, you may see a fourth “Want” pop up next to their other three Wants. Sims who have the Gloomy and Brave traits, or Sims who are vampires will not develop a Fear of the Dark. For example, Sims with the Jealous, Paranoid, and Commitment Issues traits will be more likely to develop the Fear of Being Cheated On. Some Sims are more or less likely to develop certain Fears than others. Hovering over that trait will explain the Fear in more detail and offer a tip on how your Sim might be able to overcome it. Fears display as traits in your Sim’s info panel. Sims in relationships may develop a fear of being cheated on. If your Sim experiences a house fire, they may develop a fear of fire. Instead, they develop them over time through lived experiences. Those who remember Fears from The Sims 2 will know that Sims had a set of Fears alongside a set of Wants but there wasn’t a whole lot you could do about your Sim’s Fears except avoid them. While Wants are a big improvement over Whims, Fears are brand new to The Sims 4 and are better than Fears from previous The Sims titles. Don’t worry if you can’t complete a Want the only penalty we saw for not fulfilling Wants is developing a Fear of Unfulfilled Dreams, which can be overcome! Pinned Wants won’t disappear until you complete them. Wants can be pinned so if your Sim rolls a Want you really want to complete but don’t have time for right now, click the pin button on it to lock it in. You can also complete a Want to get rid of it and make room for a new one. Wants cannot be clicked away like Whims could, so there’s a bit of a gameplay challenge there, but don’t worry about getting stuck with the same Want forever they can and do change on their own. Of course, if flirting with the mailman isn’t something you want to do, you can always ignore that Want. This is something that wouldn’t happen before and opens up new stories and gameplay for you that you might not have planned. You won’t be rolling a lot of Wants for things that are completely unrelated to your Sim’s personality or lifestyle but that doesn’t mean you’ll never be surprised by a new Want! We noticed that our Sims would sometimes roll Wants to flirt with Sims they are merely acquaintances with no pre-existing romantic relationship was needed to roll this Want. In this respect, Wants are very similar to Whims, except Wants are a lot smarter than Whims. When you complete a Want, your Sim is rewarded with satisfaction points to spend in the rewards store. If their motives are low, they may get reactionary Wants to solve those motives. For example, if your Sim visits the park, they are likely to get a reactionary Want to play chess at the park. Reactionary Wants are based on what your Sim is currently doing. Short-term Wants are things that can be done quickly, like making a phone call or chatting with someone.
These Wants don’t change as often as the other Wants. Long-term Wants are things that take some time to achieve. Sims can have up to three Wants at a time one long-term Want, one short-term Want, and one reactionary Want. Sims now have a set of Wants that are much more intuitive and better based on each Sim’s unique personality.