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The Sims 4 Island Living: All About Mermaids

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IL mermaids

Presented by EA Game Changers

Yep, you read that title right. Mermaids are finally here! They come with The Sims 4: Island Living and they are better and more powerful than ever! Read on to learn more about these enchanting (and sometimes deadly) creatures of the deep sea…

Creating Your Mermaid

Mermaids can be created directly in CAS by selecting the occult option when choosing to add a new Sim to the household. Existing Sims cannot be made into a mermaid in CAS (but they can become mermaids in-game! More on that later!)

Like aliens and vampires, mermaids have both a human form and an occult form. You can dress up their human form the same way you would with any human Sim, but the mermaid form only has one outfit category; swimwear. Mermaids have a variety of customization options tailored specifically for them. You can choose both the style and colour of their fins. Some fin swatches have neat patterns or shimmering scales. For feminine mermaids, you can also choose from a variety of tops, ranging from human swim tops, to coconuts and seashells, to chest scales that extend up from the tail. Mix and match fin and top styles and colours as much as you like!

Mermaids also have some new glowing/patterned eyes and face presets designed just for them. Create the perfect recreation of Ariel, or opt for a style more like the eerie merfolk out of the Harry Potter films. It’s all up to you.

TIP! Don’t want your mermaid to look anything like their human form? Unlink the two forms in CAS and any changes you make to one form won’t apply to the other! Link them again whenever you want a change to stick for both forms. Neat, huh?

Mermaid Biology

Mermaids age at the same pace as human Sims. Sims of all ages can be mermaids, but toddlers and children won’t grow their fins or display any mermaid abilities until they become teenagers.

The Sims 4 Island Living: All About Mermaids

Mermaids have all the same motives human Sims do except for one. The hygiene motive is replaced with a new hydration motive for mermaids. Mermaids can walk on land as humans, but they can’t stay out of the water for extended periods of time. They need to be in water frequently in order to thrive. The Hydration motive will decay slowly over time if a mermaid is not in water. Baths, showers, and drinking water can help restore the hydration motive, but mermaids are happiest when outside in open waters.

The hydration motive serves a second function; it is also a mermaid’s power source. The more hydrated a mermaid is, the more powers they can use. A dehydrated mermaid will not be able to use their powers. More on that in the next section.

Mermaids will automatically switch into their human form while on land and return to their mermaid form while in water; however, mermaids can wade in very shallow waters in their human forms.

PSST! Did you know mermaids gain Fitness skill from swimming just like human Sims? Since mermaids spend most of their time in the water, this makes them super athletic!

Mermaid Abilities and Limitations

Mermaids do not have a skill tree. All mermaids have the same abilities and limitations, but their traits do influence what actions they can and can’t do. Mermaids with the Good trait will not be able to do any serious harm to human Sims with their powers. Mermaids with the Evil trait will not be able to use certain powers that benefit human Sims. Mermaids that have neither of these traits are more neutral and can use all mermaid abilities.

Every power a mermaid uses costs Hydration Points, which comes from the Hydration motive. Using a mermaid power depletes the Hydration motive. The more a mermaid uses their powers while on land, the faster their Hydration motive will deplete. This means that mermaids are most powerful while they are in water because they have an unlimited source of Hydration Points while in the water.

Ability List

  • Siren’s Lullaby (-30 Hydration) – Can be done both on land and in water. The mermaid can sing a variety of haunting melodies to put other Sims into specific emotional states. This ability works on other mermaids as well.
    • Aegean’s Question – Makes the target Sim Tense.
    • Charmer’s Lullaby – Makes the target Sim Flirty.
    • Inspiring Berceuse – Makes the target Sim Inspired.
    • Night’s Requiem – Makes the target Sim Sad.
  • Mermaid’s Kiss (-30 Hydration) – Can be done both on land and in water, but has a more powerful effect in water. The mermaid can kiss another Sim without needing to build a romantic relationship first.
  • Siren’s Call (-100 Hydration) – Can only be done in water. The mermaid sings a haunting melody to lure an unsuspecting Sim out into the water. When the Sim reaches the mermaid, the mermaid drags the Sim underwater. This immediately depletes all of the target Sim’s motives. If a Sim cannot swim back to shore fast enough after having Siren’s Call used on them, they can drown. Good mermaids cannot use this power.
  • Summon Ocean Threat (-30 Hydration) – Can only be done in water. The mermaid sings to cause the target Sim to flounder and panic in the water. There is a chance the target Sim can drown from this, especially if they recently had Siren’s Call used on them. Good mermaids cannot use this power.
  • Call Clear Skies (-75 Hydration) – Requires Seasons. Can be done both on land and in water. The mermaid blows into a conch shell to change the weather. Cannot be used when the weather is already clear. Evil mermaids cannot use this power.
  • Call Rainstorm (-75 Hydration) – Requires Seasons. Can be done both on land and in water. The mermaid blows into a conch shell to change the weather. Cannot be used when the weather is already rainy.
  • Call Thunderstorm (-75 Hydration) – Requires Seasons. Can be done both on land and in water. The mermaid blows into a conch shell to change the weather. Cannot be used when the weather is already stormy. Good mermaids cannot use this power.
  • Aquatic Lure (-30 Hydration) – Can only be done at fishing spots or on boats. The mermaid blows into a conch shell to attract more fish and rarer fish to that area.
  • Call Over Azure Dolphin (-30 Hydration) – Can only be done while in water. Both humans and mermaids can interact with dolphins, but only mermaids can call them at will without having to become soulmates with one, first. Mermaids instantly become soulmates with any dolphin they interact with.

All mermaid abilities that cost Hydration Points have a cooldown period after it’s used. The more Hydration Points an ability costs, the longer the cooldown period.

For more information about dolphins, check out our article, The Sims 4 Island Living: All About Dolphins!

Other Mermaid Abilities

Mermaids have some other abilities that do not cost Hydration Points. They are just innate perks of being a mermaid.

  • Mermaids can sleep in the water. They don’t need to use beds at all. Combined with the fact that all Sims (including mermaids) can relieve themselves in the water when their Bladder motive becomes desperate, your mermaids can live almost entirely in water, rarely needing to come to shore except to grab a bite to eat now and then. All other motives can be satisfied in the water, including the Social motive.
  • Mermaids can sunbathe in the water; however, if their mermaid form has a special occult skin tone, they will not be able to do this. Occult skin tones do not tan or burn.
  • Mermaids can free dive without having to reach Fitness level 3 first.
  • Mermaids will occasionally make dolphin noises while on land. They will also frequently clasp their hands and hum to themselves while on land.
  • Mermaids turn into their mermaid form when taking baths.
  • Mermaids can swim in swimming pools.
  • Mermaids can talk to fish in aquariums.

Mermaid Limitations

Mermaids don’t have many limitations. The ones they do have are pretty minor, but there are a few things your mermaid Sims will not be able to do.

  • Mermaids cannot snorkel. It’s apparently a touchy subject in the mermaid community…
  • Mermaids cannot use ladders. Their fins make climbing them a bit difficult.
  • Mermaids cannot scuba dive. They don’t need scuba gear to go diving, so they don’t have the option to purchase any; however, mermaids can still free dive and do all the same things scuba diving Sims can do while free diving, so this isn’t really much of a drawback at all.

Becoming a Mermaid

You don’t have to make a mermaid in CAS. Human Sims can become mermaids by eating mermadic kelp.

Mermadic kelp can be purchased for 500 satisfaction points, but if your Sim is the more adventurous type, mermadic kelp can also be found by exploring the cave on Mua Pal’em. Sims also have a chance of finding mermadic kelp while scuba diving.

The Sims 4 Island Living: All About Mermaids

 

Once your Sim has some mermadic kelp in their inventory, click on it to have your Sim eat it. They will immediately get an Energized moodlet called Strange Sensations which hints that your Sim should probably find some open water to go swimming in. This moodlet lasts 24 in-game hours.

If your Sim enters the water while they have the Strange Sensations moodlet, they will transform into a mermaid!

The Sims 4 Island Living: All About Mermaids

TIP! Tired of the aquatic life? Have your mermaid eat two mermadic kelp in a row to instantly become human!


We hope you enjoyed this guide to mermaids! You can help us make this guide even more complete! If you have any other information about mermaids not mentioned in this guide, please let us know so we can add it to the guide with credit given to you!

Special thanks to our readers, Hugandkissasim, Angie, Thomas, and Aria, for providing valuable information for this guide.

About the author

SnarkyWitch

A cranky old lady who prefers the company of cats and Sims over people. Occasionally peeks out from her lair long enough to chuck Sims articles at innocent bystanders.

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JMM
JMM
4 years ago

My two non-mermaid Sims just produced a mermaid baby, I don’t have any cheats or mods installed. Has anyone noticed if having the trait “child of the island” on parents is a factor in producing mermaid babies. This was kind of unfortunate as I am doing the 100 baby challenge and didn’t really want a mermaid. Just thought it was funny very first baby I had since installing the new pack gave me a mermaid.

Carla Alfonzo
Carla Alfonzo
4 years ago

Hi i created my sims to be a mermaid since the beginning and now i dont know what happened but she is not longer a mermaid, what can i do to fix it?

Ev
Ev
4 years ago

How can I turn my mermaid sim to a human?
I liked how I made her but I want to be able to play her as a normal sim too.

Eva Hopkins
Eva Hopkins
4 years ago

How do you make you simply jump into the water?

Eva Hopkins
Eva Hopkins
4 years ago
Reply to  Eva Hopkins

Your sim** not you simply

Jenni Sniffen
Jenni Sniffen
4 years ago

My mermaid is a marine biologist and she needs to snorkel for her work and she can’t is there anyway to bypass that?

Aj
Aj
4 years ago

My mermaid runs like a run in water whats up woth that??

Confused
Confused
4 years ago
Reply to  Aj

How do I feed my dog mermaid kelp so it becomes a dolphin whilst in water..?

Arwen
Arwen
4 years ago
Reply to  Aj

I had this glitch too but I solved it when I understood it came from mods not yet updated ^^
But if you are not using any mods or CC then I don’t know how to help you :/
Good luck though if it isn’t yet solved! 🙂

Haley
Haley
4 years ago
Reply to  Arwen

Just recently bought Island Living on the PS4
Turned my Sim into a mermaid. She has the abilities but I cannot change her tail and her tail will not appear

SnarkyWitch
SnarkyWitch
4 years ago
Reply to  Aj

You mean your mermaid swims like a human in water? That’s a glitch I experienced once while writing the guide. I just had to send her to land, then send her back in the water and she swam like a mermaid again.

zelda
zelda
4 years ago
Reply to  SnarkyWitch

No, I’m having the same problem. They are running on top of the water….

Amanda
Amanda
4 years ago
Reply to  zelda

Did you use the teleport cheat ?

savy
savy
5 years ago
Reply to  Amanda

if your sim is running on top of the water or swimming on the land press CTRL, Shift, and C at the same time and type in Testingcheats true in the white bar, then Shift + Click on your sim and press “resetobject/resetsim” or alternatively just type in “resetsim (firstname) (lastname)” in the white bar. if this doesn’t work then try moving to a different lot and coming back, or just close the game and reopen it. If this happens with every sim and none of the solutions work then it is either a save file issue or could just be a problem with the entire game, and if it is try repairing sims 4.

Lili
Lili
4 years ago
Reply to  Amanda

I turned my sim into a mermaid through kelp and she had no face. What do I do?

SnarkyWitch
SnarkyWitch
4 years ago
Reply to  zelda

I haven’t encountered this glitch. Make sure you are not playing with any mods installed. Even the mods that have hotfixes out are rushed and may not be perfect until the modder has a chance to do a thorough update.

Summer
Summer
4 years ago
Reply to  SnarkyWitch

Yeah, I know Clare Siobhan was having that problem as well.

carly
carly
4 years ago
Reply to  zelda

My sim has just become a mermaid but has no tail. I have taken her out of the water and back in, still no tail. Does anyone know how to fix this?

Dze
Dze
4 years ago

can a mermaid become human?

SnarkyWitch
SnarkyWitch
4 years ago
Reply to  Dze

I want to correct my previous comment. Mermaids can become human by eating two mermadic kelp in a row. 🙂 One of our readers informed us about this and it’s been added to the guide.

Sielayrie62
Sielayrie62
4 years ago
Reply to  SnarkyWitch

Not sure that works if the mermaid was never human to start with, but will test it first chance.

Dze
Dze
4 years ago
Reply to  SnarkyWitch

Thank you so much!

SnarkyWitch
SnarkyWitch
4 years ago
Reply to  Dze

Not as far as I’m aware. I tried many different methods with no luck.

Sielayrie62
Sielayrie62
4 years ago

I had a young adult female get pregnant by a merman and when the baby turn into a teenager she got all the mermaid abilities but doesn’t get fins when she goes swimming. Is there something special thats has to be done first.

Angie
Angie
4 years ago

In the lifetime rewards tab there is mermaid kelp for 500 points.

SnarkyWitch
SnarkyWitch
4 years ago
Reply to  Angie

Thank you! I learned about this in the Sims Community Facebook group after, haha. I will add it to the guide. Thanks for the info! 🙂

Ronja
Ronja
4 years ago

did anyone konw how a mermaid can use the ladder from the new pack? my mermaid can jump in the water but not just go. the game said she has no idea how to use a ladder. how can she learn it? please help, thanks.

SnarkyWitch
SnarkyWitch
4 years ago
Reply to  Ronja

If you read the guide, it says mermaids can’t use ladders. There’s no way for them to learn.

CervitaurWitch
CervitaurWitch
4 years ago
Reply to  Ronja

Since they can’t use ladders I just put some stairs on the side of the dock. As soon as they get to the shallow area and get their legs back they can just go up the stairs.

kefou94
kefou94
4 years ago

Apparently when you have wicked whims installed, your Sim won’t turn into a mermaid :(k

SnarkyWitch
SnarkyWitch
4 years ago
Reply to  kefou94

Play without WW until Turbodriver gets back from his vacation next month.

Aj
Aj
4 years ago
Reply to  SnarkyWitch

I dont have WW in my game

rochelimit
rochelimit
4 years ago
Reply to  SnarkyWitch

Thanks for all your replies and for the hard work of making the guide!

Hugandkissasim
Hugandkissasim
4 years ago

You can get mermadic kelp in the rewards store FYI 😉

SnarkyWitch
SnarkyWitch
4 years ago
Reply to  Hugandkissasim

Thank you! I learned about this in the Sims Community Facebook group after, haha. I will add it to the guide. Thanks for the info! 🙂

Eva
Eva
4 years ago

My sim has been born into being a mermaid as I have aged them up to a young adult so she is definitely able to have a tail. I designed her mermaid form in cas and everything but when she swims she isn’t a mermaid?! I tried giving her mermaidic kelp and she ate it but still no transformation yet she can sleep and sunbathe with the mermaid picture option ! Helppp!!!!

SnarkyWitch
SnarkyWitch
4 years ago
Reply to  Eva

I will try to replicate this in my game but make sure you have no mods in your game. They all need updating. Even the mods that have hotfixes out are rushed and may not be perfect until the modder has a chance to do a more thorough update.

Eva
Eva
4 years ago
Reply to  SnarkyWitch

Oh. I have 26GB of CC in my game

SnarkyWitch
SnarkyWitch
4 years ago
Reply to  Eva

I just tried this out in my game and my Sim who was naturally born a merman was able to change into his merman form when he became a young adult, so this must be a mod issue. Please take out all your mods. Don’t put them back in until they’ve been updated by the creator.

NotThriving
NotThriving
4 years ago
Reply to  SnarkyWitch

I had this exact same problem. It weird because my other sims can turn into mermaids but its the ones who were born as mermaids who are unable to run.

NotThriving
NotThriving
4 years ago
Reply to  SnarkyWitch

I uninstalled all of my CC and it is still not working.

Gabe
Gabe
4 years ago

Is there a way to make your mermaid jump of a deck to dive into the water? I’ve seen that on the trailer but can’t figure out how to get her to do that.

SnarkyWitch
SnarkyWitch
4 years ago
Reply to  Gabe

Mermaids cannot use ladders but I didn’t have a problem getting mine to jump off a deck into water. Just have her standing on the deck next to the water, then select swim here in the water. She should jump off the deck unless there is an easier path for her to take.

Nicholaskreuz
Nicholaskreuz
4 years ago
Reply to  SnarkyWitch

Just pointing out that you can use a ladder to jump, dive, or cannonball into the water. I’m not sure if you can use it to climb down into the water (given that you would have human feet until you enter). I forgot to try.

LadyDragonstone
LadyDragonstone
4 years ago

Nice guide, thank you! I’m so hyped to get this on console next month.

Brittany
Brittany
4 years ago

Are they a mermaid permanently when the eat the mermaid kelp?

SnarkyWitch
SnarkyWitch
4 years ago
Reply to  Brittany

As far as I’m aware, yes. Becoming a mermaid is a permanent change that cannot be undone later without cheats or mods.

SnarkyWitch
SnarkyWitch
4 years ago
Reply to  Brittany

I want to correct my previous comment. Mermaids can become human by eating two mermadic kelp in a row. 🙂 One of our readers informed us about this and it’s been added to the guide.

Jackie
Jackie
4 years ago
Reply to  SnarkyWitch

I don’t think this is true for everyone. I’ve had my sim eat it again and it does work

Jackie
Jackie
4 years ago
Reply to  Jackie

Does NOT*