Presented by EA Game Changers
The Sims 4 Cottage Living Expansion Pack introduces a new set of Lot Challenges. Usually these would’ve been Lot Traits however the upcoming update for The Sims 4 is categorizing all of the Lot Traits we’ve gotten in previous Packs into Lot Traits and Lot Challenges. The Lot Traits are usually Traits that don’t add an extra layer of challenging gameplay. The Lot Challenge Category includes challenges that can make gameplay on your Lot more difficult.
We’ve gotten a list from The Sims Team of all the Lot Traits being converted into Lot Challenges:
- Creepy Crawlies
- Cursed
- Filthy
- Gremlins
- Grody
- Landfill
- Off the Grid
- Quake Zone
- Reduce and Recycle
- Simple Living
- Spooky
- Volcanic Activity
- Wild Foxes
The Lot Challenges can be found in Build Mode in the “Traits and Challenges” section of the Venue Info Category on the top left corner.
Facts about Lot Challenges:
- They function just like Lot Traits, they’re just a seperate categorization.
- You can apply one or multiple Lot Challenges per Lot. There is no limit on how many challenges you can apply.
- The Sims 4 Base Game only has one Lot Challenge – Off-the-Grid.
- If you’re indecisive about which Lot Challenge you want to apply to your Lot you can use the Randomize button!
The Sims 4 Cottage Living comes with two new Lot Challenges – Simple Living and Wild Foxes. In this article I’ll be guiding you through each one and what gameplay and difficulty they bring! Note that the software we captured info and footage is early alpha and features are subject to change.
Simple Living Lot Challenge
This lot requires ingredients to cook all recipes. Cooking with ingredients just makes food taste better!
The Simple Living Lot Challenge doesn’t just bring a challenging gameplay twist – it also brings a specific task and reward that you can unlock, which I’ll be explaining at the end of this segment.
This Lot Challenge adds a realistic challenge of having to have all the ingredients when cooking, baking, canning or anything in between that requires your Sims to make food!
You’ll notice that with this Lot Challenge applied any recipe that doesn’t have all the ingredients will be locked out until you get the needed ingredients.
There are several ways to get the ingredients you need for making food in The Sims 4, including:
- Gardening
- Raising Animals that produce needed Ingredients
- Grocery Delivery
- Going to the Grocery Shop
Surviving only off of ingredients that you’ve harvested in your garden or milked from your Cows sometimes just isn’t going to cut it. Most recipes in the game now also require things like Flour and Sugar which you can only get when ordering or purchasing Groceries directly. For more information about ordering and purchasing Groceries check out this guide!
All the groceries that you purchase will be unloaded into your Refridgerator. You can keep track of all of the groceries you have by clicking the Refridgerator and selecting Open. From this interface you’ll also be able to transfer ingredients your Sim has harvested or gathered into the Refridgerator.
Sims who cook on a lot with the Simple Living Lot Challenge will get a significant Skill Boost for Cooking / Baking, as well as a Self Sustaining +2 Happy Moodlet that lasts for 2 hours!
Now, back to that reward that I talked about in the beginning. Sims can unlock the ability to write a special Cookbook if they manage to do the following:
- Reach Level 10 of the Cooking Skill
- If you already mastered the skill, you’ll unlock the ability to write the Cookbook after cooking 15 meals.
How do you write a cookbook? It’s easy! Simply head over to your computer and go Write > Write Skill Book > Simple Living Cookbook.
You’ll also be able to choose and name the Cookbook yourself or leave as-is.
After finishing the Cookbook you’ll be able to find it in your Sim’s inventory. The value of this Cookbook isn’t of a high resell value (even though you can find it in BuyDebug for a tremendeous price of 2,500 Simoleons). Still, it’s high in value in terms of how other Sims can use it. This single Cookbook is powerful enough to supply a Sim and level up their Cooking Skill from a 0 to 10 quickly!
Wild Foxes Lot Challenge
Wild foxes will appear on this lot, being a nuisance to your garden, chickens, and rabbits.
With this Lot Challenge you’ll get an extra layer of having to handle Wild Foxes spawning on your lot every so often. This will especially become difficult if you’re taking care of chickens, have a rabbit on your lot or even take care of a garden in your backyard. Foxes are ruthless and sometimes the consequences can be fatal for your Chickens, Rabbits or Crops. Oh and yes – Chicken Eggs too.
On some ocassions with this Lot Challenge you’ll be notified that a “Bushy Tailed Thief” is stalking your home, referring that a fox is nearby on your lot…and means trouble.
The fox will approach to their target and observe for about an hour. During this period you’ll have enough time to Plead the Fox to stop what they’re doing or try to Shoo the Fox away.
In this example, a Fox tried to attack (and possibly even kill) one of my Chickens. Thankfully there’s also a factor where Chickens can also come out of the battle as winners! If they win they’ll chase the Fox away. If they don’t…well…you probably get where I’m going with this.
There are some other, less harmful consequences as Foxes stealing eggs or just digging through your garden.
Want to hang out with Foxes and befriend them but don’t want to suffer the consequences for the rest of your Animals on your lot? Worry not, there are ways you can neutralize the effects of a Wild Fox!
Tips for dealing with Wild Foxes:
- Find a Wild Fox and “Ask Not to Steal”. You’ll have to befriend a Fox first before doing this interaction.
- Install the Fox Be-Gone Alarm on your Chicken Coop. You’ll need 3 Livestock Upgrade Parts to do this Upgrade. After you’ve gathered the parts click on the Chicken Coop and select Actions… > Upgrade…> Fox-Be-Gone Alarm. After upgrading the Chicken Coop with the Alarm Wild Foxes will be automatically scared away when approaching the lot with bad intentions.
- Roosters are natural foes of Wild Foxes – they will chase after any Fox that’s close in their surrounding.
- Llamas play a huge role on defending your Lot from Wild Foxes. If they notice a Wild Fox on your Lot they’ll spit at them to shoo them away.
