The Sims 3 Relationships Guide
Introduction: Relationship Stages and Conversation Tones
| Relationships Guide | Building Friendships | Social Interactions | Romantic Relations | Romantic Interactions | Traits in Conversation |
The Sims 3 features multiple relationship levels that define how Sims view friendships, romance, and family. In this guide to relationship levels, we'll learn about the various stages of a relationship and how you can make a Sim find a boyfriend or girlfriend, fall in love, get engaged, or have a wedding and get married. The Sims is not all about romance, of course, so we'll also be shining a light on the levels of friendship.
This relationship guide applies universally to the Sims 3. Whether you're playing the PC/Mac versions, or the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, or DS ports, you'll find this guide helpful. Even with the computer versions' expansions, nothing drastically changes about the way relationships and the various friend levels work. You just get more options on how conversations are carried out, and the interactions Sims can perform.
Relationship Levels in The Sims 3
Let's talk about the various levels of like, or hate, the Sims 3 offers. All Sims start out as Strangers, but upon interacting will be Acquaintances. From there, the bar can move either right, to the positive, or left, into the red. At various levels the Sims' relationship status will change. Note that if your Sim doesn't interact with another for a time their relationship will start to decay. Even families need to interact with one another from time to time to maintain a good relationship. However, old friends and family are easy relationships to recover.
When speaking in terms of numbers, look at the positive side of a Sim's relationship bar. Best friends begins at 80-90, or 80-90% of the bar. The numbers here are estimates, but will give you a good idea where you'll need to be. Note that the stronger a relationship is, the more options a Sim will have while visiting without being Inappropriate.
- Friendships: Friendships are the most basic measurement. At 40-50%, Sims will become Friends, 60 makes them Good Friends, and around 90 they are your Sim's Best Friend. . Teenagers can ask a Good Friend to be their Best Friend Forever (BFF). Any friendships that stand the test of time can eventually move up to Old Friend status. Old friendships can be recovered quite easily.
- Enemies: As I said above, Sims don't have to be only Friends or Acquaintances. They can also come to hate one another. At -20, Sims become Disliked. At any point that the Sims' relationship has dived below zero, they can Declare Nemesis and become Enemies. Like Friendships, adversity can go on for a long time, and these Adversaries can become Old Enemies.
- Romance: Romance progresses just as you'd expect. If your Sim has kissed or used other heavy romantic interactions on another Sim, and their relationship bar is in the positive, they'll become a Romantic Interest. At any point that your Sim can pull off the Propose Going Steady Social Interaction, they can become a Girlfriend or Boyfriend (Partner). From there, you can Propose Marriage to make the Sim your Fiancee. Once the wedding is performed, they finally become Husband and Wife.
- Break-Ups and Divorces: can both occur in The Sims 3. Either of these interactions is available through the Mean category when things have been going sour. This is essential to the Heartbreaker Lifetime Wish. Sims that have become estranged this way will become an Ex Girlfriend, Boyfriend, Husband, or Wife..
Social Interactions and Conversations
Social Interactions can bring about various moods to a conversation. This dynamic of the Sims 3's socializing system allows us to see how our Sim's interactions are being taken, and their impact on the other Sim's feelings. These stages are crucial to certain facets of building relationships. See the various sections of this Relationship Guide to learn more about that type of conversation . Some interactions only unlock once a Sim has reached a certain stage in a relationship, while the success rate may also be determined by how the Sims are interacting. Overall the conversation tone is a large indicator for what options you'll have. Being hilarious will give you every joke option, and being extremely irresistible in romance will enable powerful options like going steady and proposing marriage.
Here are the various tones a Sim in a conversation can have, in order of magnitude:
Friendly Context: OK, Sociable, Friendly, Amusing, Funny, Hilarious. Compliments and the like will affect these, good conversation and jokes as well. It's one thing to chat, but Sims can really form bonds with a deep conversation.
Romantic Moods: Flirty, Alluring, Extremely Irresistible. These are pretty much all found under the Romantic section of the Social Interactions interface. Try to keep things from moving too fast early on!
Boring: Other sims can find yours boring. Don't repeat those social interactions too many times, unless you have the Never Dull Lifetime Reward or your Sim has the Charismatic trait.
Not so Hot: Odd, Awkward, Creepy, Very Awkward. Certain interactions can cause this. Sims with no sense of humor will show evidence of these, and if you try romantic interactions too early in a relationship you'll also see these.
Angry: Impolite, Rude, Unforgivably Rude. Use a Smooth Recovery or Apologize to get the conversation back on track. Unless your Sim is wicked, that is. Some of them just like to start fights!
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9But when I asked him the first time if he was in a relationship, he said no. And I'm probs taking this too seriously,
but I really want her to have a family! Anyway to regain his affections?
Teens have romantic options with other teens, but not with adults or young adults.
But I have found that if your 'Young Adult' woman and your male teen (or which ever) were previously dating whilst both were teens, you still have the romance option even if only one ages.
http://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/relationships/
