The Legacy Challenge (Original)
What Is The Legacy Challenge?
The Legacy Challenge is a set of self-imposed rules meant to change the way you play the game of The Sims 4. By abiding by the restrictions of the challenge and reaching for the goals of the challenge, you will find yourself getting a very different experience from The Sims 4 that you might have playing casually. The Legacy Challenge tasks you with creating a single founder Sim moving them in to a giant lot, and starting out in abject poverty. Your founder must build their house, build their wealth, and ultimately bring in the second generation to continue when they die. In this challenge you play a single family for 10 full generations. With less control over how your children turn out and more challenges thrown your way, the challenge asks the very important question. “What kind of Legacy will you leave?”
Getting Started
The best thing to do when starting your Legacy Challenge is to begin a new game. Do this by selecting the + at the top of the main menu and selecting New Game. This will bring you to Create a Sim (CAS).
Your challenge begins in Create-A-Sim (CAS). There, you must design your founder. Your founder can be just about anything you want and if you have The Sims 4 Get to Work, they can even be an alien! You can pick whatever aspiration you want for them and give them whatever traits you want. Pick out their gender, wardrobe, body shape and color, and even incorporate any CAS custom content or mods. The ONLY two rules are that they must be of the ‘young adult’ age, and they must be the only person in the household.
Take extra care when giving them their name, especially their last name, as many future Sims will have that as part of their name, so make it a good one.
Once you have finished your founder, move them into any empty lot. Return to the world screen. Select your founder on their empty lot and pick “Move Family”.
Update: Over the years the taxes on lots in The Sims 4 have become much larger and therefore the requirement to start on a 50×50 or larger lot is no longer valid. You may start on any size lot, but bear in mind that smaller lots will have less room for expansion over 10 generations.
Due to the variable cost of the land, you must use the money cheat (type testingcheats true, then enter, then money x and enter. x being either §1800 or §0 depending on if you are doing a regular or extreme start). You are no longer required to purchase items to bring your money down as Sims’ bills have gotten more “beefy” over the years.
UPDATE FOR SEASONS The Sims 4 Seasons – If you have you may start your challenge in any of the seasons. Whichever one you prefer. (This is only for the regular start. The Extreme Start will follow a different set of rules. See below)
**EXTREME START OPTION** – With the addition of The Sims 4 Get Together an “Extreme” start (similar to what was in the Sims 2 Legacy Challenge Advanced Rules) is now an option. Successfully completing an extreme start will net you one bonus point (see the Scoring section under “Handicaps” for more details). To start an “Extreme” Legacy Challenge you must move your founder onto one of the new 64 x 64 lots in Windenburg (after the lot on it has been demolished). This will leave you with $8000. Upon moving onto the lot, you must cheat your Sim’s money down to 0. (see the above cheat for help on how to do that).
NOTE: If you don’t want to do an extreme start, but still want to play on a 64 x 64 lot, then cheat the money to §1800 instead of 0.
EXTREME START UPDATE FOR SEASONS – Extreme Start Legacy Challenges MUST be started in Winter if you have the Seasons pack. We wish you luck.
EXTREME START UPDATE FOR GET FAMOUS – To use the new “Chateau Peak” 64 x 64 lot in Del Sol Valley use the cheat “FreeRealEstate On” to purchase the lot for free and bulldoze the house already on it. Once your Sim is moved in, use the money cheat to bring your Sim’s money to 0. Start in Winter as per usual. If you don’t want to do an extreme start on this lot, use the money cheat to bring funds down to §1800. Either way, be prepared for some VERY brutal weekly bills.
**NEW ULTRA EXTREME START FOR GET FAMOUS’S CHATEAU PEAK LOT** – Do you want even MORE of a challenge with the new 64 x 64 lot in Del Sol Valley? Well with the help of some fellow Simmers, I’ve come up with the Ultra Extreme Start for Get Famous. (Special thanks to Kotabuck, StormyDayz, TigerLover78, and SimsMomChelle for the help!) The rules for this new start are as follows:
Start the game in Winter
Use freerealestate on cheat to get the Chateau Peak lot for “free” (make sure to choose “Bulldoze lot when choosing Chateau Peak to move into)
Move Sim onto the now empty Chateau Peak Lot
Purchase the Knight of the Octagon Table and then use the money cheat to bring the Sim’s funds to 0
The lot must have the “Celebrity Home” Trait
In order to pay back the §35,000 “loan” for the lot, you must buy four additional Knights of the Octagon Table and one Viva La Landscape Painting before your founder dies (you may notice this will leave you $5 short on the loan, that’s because your Sim had $5 in their pocket when they bought the lot)
You can have your Sims get married while you are repaying the loan
Other objects may be purchased while your Sim is repaying the loan, just make sure all five objects are purchased before the founder’s death
The five items bought to repay the loan must be kept in the family inventory and not placed on the lot. This restriction is lifted once all five objects are purchased and the loan is considered repaid.
Money can be spent however the player wishes as long as they make sure to save up for the loan repayment objects
Once the loan is paid off, you can remove the “Celebrity Home” trait from the lot if you don’t plan on making your Sims famous. That will avoid the embarrassed moodlet.
Because of how difficult this start will be, it will be worth TWO additional points rather than one.
Succession Laws
It is a sad fact…but part of the challenge’s design is that your founder will eventually die. Even if you care for them perfectly, the march of time and old age will eventually take them from you. But worry not, death is not a failure state. When your founder eventually dies, you will need to determine who among their children will become the next heir, the Leader of the family for the second generation. The title of heir has many important implications that will be explained as we go along. How your family handles succession is actually quite customizable. Just as a Sim’s personality is made up of three traits, your succession law is made up of three components. Think of the succession law as the “personality” of your family. Choose wisely, as you must abide by this succession law for your entire challenge and cannot change it part-way through.
Not sure which laws to choose? See the “Legacy Challenge Succession Laws Ranked By Difficulty” section below.
Gender Law
The first component is Gender. You must pick one of the following options:
Matriarchy: The Founder must be female. Only girls are eligible to be named heir unless there are no female children, at which point boys become eligible for that generation.
Strict Matriarchy: The Founder must be female. Only girls are eligible to be named heir. Male children cannot, under any circumstance, ever be the heir to the next generation.
Patriarchy: The Founder must be male. Only boys are eligible to be named heir unless there are no male children, at which point girls become eligible for that generation.
Strict Patriarchy: The Founder must be male. Only boys are eligible to be named heir. Female children cannot, under any circumstance, ever be the heir to the next generation.
Equality: The Founder may be of either gender. Both boys and girls are eligible for the title of heir.
Strict Equality: The founder may be of either gender. However, only children of the opposite gender to the founder are eligible to be named heir. This repeats itself for the next generation (the next heir must be a different gender than the previous heir) so that each generation will have alternating-genders as heirs.
Bloodline Law
The Second Component is Bloodline law. You must pick from one of these options:
Strict Traditional : To be eligible to be named heir, a child must be naturally born (or be a Science baby) from their previous-generation parents and be able to trace an unbroken bloodline back to the founder. Adopted children may never be named heir.
Traditional: Children who are naturally born (or a Science baby) from the previous generation are eligible to be named heir. Adopted children are ineligible to be named heir unless there are no naturally born or science baby children that can trace their lineage to the founder, at which point they become eligible for that generation.
Modern: Naturally born/science baby and adopted children are eligible to be named heir.
Foster: Children who are adopted are eligible to be named heir. Naturally born/Science baby children are not eligible to be named heir unless there are no adopted children, at which point they become eligible for that generation.
Strict Foster: Only Children who are adopted are eligible for the title of heir. Naturally born/Science baby children may never be heir.
The Gender Law and Bloodline Law serve as a sort of ‘qualifying’ round. If either law names a child as ineligible, then they cannot gain the title of heir. However, just because a child is eligible to be named heir according to Gender and Bloodline laws, doesn’t mean they WILL be the heir. The third category actually picks the heir.
Heir Law
The third Category is the Heir Selection Law. You must choose from the following options:
First Born: The oldest, by order of joining the family, eligible living child is named heir.
Last Born: The youngest, by order of joining the family, eligible living child is named heir.
Living Will: The eligible child with the highest friendly relationship score with their previous-generation’s parent will be named heir.
Merit: The child with the most fully completed aspirations will be named heir. If there is a tie, the child with the highest level in a single skill will become heir from among the children who are tied.
Strength: The first born eligible child becomes heir by default… but the tile can be forcefully taken from them if an eligible sibling beats them in a fight. That sibling may have their title taken, (or taken back) if they lose a fight to another eligible sibling.
Random: The title of heir is randomly selected from the pool of all eligible children. Every time the eligible pool changes size, The heir must be re-rolled using the new pool.
Exemplar: At the beginning of the challenge, name a single trait. This trait must be one of your founder’s three traits.. Any eligible heir that has this trait will gain the title of heir. If a single generation has no children with this trait follow the First Born rule. If more than one child has the Exemplar trait then the oldest child WITH the trait will be the heir.
Democracy: This rule may be used if you are displaying your Legacy Challenge in some public way. Either via Let’s Play, Livestream, blog or other format where people can leave comment. The heir is chosen by your viewers/readers from among the pool of eligible heirs.
Magical Bloodline: Choose the heir by whoever has the strongest magical bloodline trait. If there is no magical bloodline trait (ie in the earlier generations) then the law defaults to first born until magic is introduced to the family. If multiple potential heirs have the same level of magical trait, choose the oldest one.
Magical Strength: Similar to the Strength law above, this one requires two or more potential heirs to have a magical duel. Whoever wins the duel, is the new heir.
Species Law
This law is only for those of you that have The Sims 4 Get to Work. If you have already started your Legacy prior to GTW’s release you may add this to your Legacy. It is optional though.
Xenoarchy – Heirs must alternate between human and alien
Xenophobic – Heirs cannot be a different species from the founder
Brood – Heirs must be carried in a pregnancy by the previous heir, regardless of the heir’s gender
Tolerant – The species of the child has no impact on their eligibility for heir status
There are several laws that can change who the heir is mid-generation. The title of heir can continue shifting until one of two conditions are met: 1. The previous-generation heir dies or 2. The current heir brings in an eligible child for the next generation. Once one of these two events happen, the title of heir is ‘locked in’ on whomever currently holds it and will not change.
Up next is the Gameplay Rules of the challenge.
Legacy Challenge Succession Laws Ranked By Difficulty
There are quite a few succession laws to choose from in The Sims 4 Legacy Challenge. How do you know which one will work for you? I have compiled a list of all current succession laws and ranked them in order of difficulty within their category. Hopefully this helps you decide!
Gender Law
Highest Difficulty- Strict Matriarchy/Patriarchy/Equality: These three choices are your most difficult options for the Gender Law category as they require that your Sims have a certain gender child in order to progress the Legacy. If you choose a Strict Patriarchy succession law for instance, your current generation MUST have a son for the Legacy to continue. This could sometimes result in many children before the coveted boy is born. The same would go for Strict Matriarchy and Strict Equality (which requires the opposite gender every generation). If you are up for the challenge and don’t mind the possibility of your Sims having many children, then this one is for you!
Medium Difficulty – Patriarchy/Matriarchy – The non-strict versions of Patriarchy and Matriarchy are not quite as difficult and time consuming as their strict counterparts as, if a certain gender isn’t born, your choice will then default to the first born child regardless of gender. This particular option is good for those of you that want to attempt to have only a certain gender represent their Legacy heirs, but aren’t concerned with sometimes needing to switch things up if the specific gender doesn’t appear.
Easiest Difficulty – Equality – Equality is the easiest choice in the Gender Law category as you are free to choose your heir regardless of their gender. This one is for those of you that don’t want to worry about gender when choosing an heir and instead can either rely on a different succession law or keep things easy by being able to be more flexible with your choices all around.
Bloodline Law
Highest Difficulty – Strict Traditional/Strict Foster – In the Strict Traditional Succession Law all heirs must be naturally born (not adopted) from the previous generation. In Strict Foster, the heirs MUST be adopted. These laws in and of themselves isn’t too bad, however if you pair them with Strict Matriarchy/Patriarchy/Equality you will add yet another layer of difficulty to getting the heir that you need to progress as you will be unable to choose the gender in either natural born or adopted children.
Medium Difficulty – Foster/Traditional – These two succession law options are less difficult than their strict counterparts as you can choose to adopt or birth a child if you can’t get an heir from your chosen law (which can’t be done in the strict version)
Easiest Difficulty – Modern – The Modern Bloodline Law is the easiest option as you can choose to adopt OR birth the next generation. There is no restriction on which one you choose. This law is a good choice for someone who wants to do a Strict Matriarchy/Patriarchy/Equality Legacy, but wants the flexibility of being able to birth or adopt the heir.
Heir Law
These succession laws work a bit differently than the others in that there really isn’t any inherent difficulty in them, it’s more which laws are more simple to keep track of and which are more complex and require more work and tracking on the part of the player. So for this section I will list them by either “Simple” (requires little work to track by the player) or “Complex” (requires more work to track and more management on the part of the player).
Simple:
First Born
Last Born
Random
Democracy
Complex:
Living Will
Merit
Strength
Exemplar
Magical Bloodline
Magical Strength
Species Law
The Species Succession Law is optional and only for those of you that have the Get to Work expansion pack. This law revolves around whether aliens will be in the Legacy or not. The easiest of these is “Tolerant” as the species doesn’t play a role in determining the founder at all. All of the others are more in the difficult range as they require your Sims to either remain aliens throughout the challenge or to alternate between human and alien.
Gameplay Rules
The following is a set of rules and restrictions you must follow when playing your Sims 4 Legacy Challenge. They are mainly here to keep the challenge balanced and maintain a degree of difficulty as you play through your 10 generations.
No cheats/hacks/mods that give you an advantage over someone who did not use them. I leave this rule deliberately open-ended because of the sheer variety of cheats/mods and hacks out there that have been, and will be made. The rule of thumb is that using a specific cheat/hack/mod will not put your family in any better of a position compared to someone who did not use one. For example, money cheats like motherlode and kaching would be against this rule because someone who did not use them would have less money than someone who did. Where as a mod that, for example, created a brand new yellow shirt in CAS that your Sims could use, would be fine because having a pretty yellow shirt would not cause your family to gain any more points than someone who stuck with the stock clothing options.
Update to the above rule: Due to pets being added to the total score of 8 members per household, Pinstar has decided that using the MC Command Center mod to increase the number of Sims/Pets per household is perfectly fine. You can choose whatever number you want to increase it by, just know that more Sims in your household might cause the gameplay to become sluggish. Not to mention be much more chaotic due to more Sims to manage.
No restarting after bad events. Did your Sim get fired from a bad chance card? Did you burn down your kitchen because you forgot a smoke alarm? Did that baby get born a boy when you really wanted a girl? Keep the results and move ahead. Taking the bad events with the good makes the challenge more interesting and struggling back from failure states is half the fun. Restarting to recover from a crash, glitch, bug, or other technical problem is allowed.
You may not move or merge in other Sims into the Legacy Family with the exception Sims that will aid in bringing in the next generation aka the “spouse”. (See the Spouse section for details. As of the latest rule change, you can bring in more than one spouse). You may have non-heir family members leave the Legacy Family, but once they are gone, they may not be moved back in.
The Legacy Family must remain on the same lot for the duration of the challenge (this does not include vacations). They are free (and encouraged) to develop their house but they may not move into a new house. Rooms may be imported into the house from the exchange as long as the family pays full price for the construction and items contained within.
A Sim may utilize an anti-aging item ONCE in their lifetime. This includes drinking a youth potion or milking the cow plant. Any cheats that freeze aging or lengthen (or shorten) lifespan times may not be used.Sims lifespans must be set to “Normal” in the gameplay menu.
You may not change a Sim’s current aspiration. The exception is when they fully complete an aspiration. When that happens, you may choose their new aspiration, as long as it is not one they’ve already completed.
You may not bring a Sim back from the dead once the reaper has taken them. You MAY plead with the reaper in order to save a recently dead Sim.
You may not move/marry out the sim who currently holds the title of ‘heir’. All of the other children in that generation (known as ‘spares’) may move or marry out. Once a sim moves out, they are ineligible to be heir, even if conditions change that might make them the rightful heir.
When playing a Legacy Challenge, your legacy family is the ONLY family you may play in that saved game. You MAY move in new families into the neighborhood during your challenge (keeping in mind that they can be used for friends, but not spouses) but you may not play them
You may use the new CAS story mode to make your founder, but you do not have to. This is purely up to individual preferences.
SIMS 4 GET TO WORK UPDATES
You are allowed to follow Sims to their jobs if taking the new Doctor, Detective, or Scientist careers. Since these careers do not branch, having a sim reach the top level will satisfy the ‘both branches’ requirement in the Nature category.
You may start with an Alien or Vampire Founder and have Alien/Vampire heirs. If you start with a Vampire founder, keep in mind that Vampires are immortal. It is up to you to decide what to do with the older generations (you can be as sinister with that as you wish).
SIMS 4 ROMANTIC GARDEN PACK UPDATES
The Wishing Well from the Sims 4 Romantic Garden Pack can be used only ONCE per Sim in their lifetime. Once a Sim in the Legacy family uses their one wish, they may no longer use the Wishing Well again during their life. So use that one wish wisely!
SIMS 4 CITY LIVING UPDATES
If you have The Sims 4 City Living and marry in a spouse with the “City Native” aspiration, you may use the Random Trait Generator to get them a new aspiration (ignore whatever traits it gives you, you are only changing the aspiration).
SIMS 4 GENERAL/FREE UPDATES
Any Sim in the household can be set as a Toddler’s caretaker. All objects added with the Toddler update are Legacy legal.
You do not need to roll for lot traits. You may pick and choose those as you wish and can change them at any time.
SIMS 4 PARENTHOOD UPDATES
If you have the Sims 4 Parenthood Pack you do NOT need to roll for any of the upbringing traits. They are reward traits you earn by influencing and raising your children. You may do so however you want. Standard child/teen/young adult traits are still rolled for in the traditional manner. All of the new objects, interactions and gameplay elements are all fully legal within the Legacy Challenge.
SIMS 4 CATS & DOGS UPDATES
If you have The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs you may adopt pets, but we do not have any rules regarding pets and do not want to REQUIRE that you adopt or breed pets because they take up a Sim slot that would otherwise be used for Legacy family members (and thus make the challenge more difficult).
SIMS 4 SEASONS UPDATES
If you have The Sims 4 Seasons you may purchase any of the new traits with Satisfaction Points.
The new weather machine may be used to its fullest extent, risks and all.
You may befriend and use Patchy the Scarecrow to his fullest extent.
You may purchase and use the trait re-arranger potion. However, you must roll for new traits.
You are welcome to create as many holidays as you want while playing the legacy challenge. However, there are two that are built more deeply into the challenge that have some guidelines and points associated with them. (See the Scoring section for more details)
Your Sims may not participate in the random Lottery holiday that appears as the chance for winning an enormous amount of money would make the financial parts of this challenge far too easy.
The Money Tree aspiration reward is too powerful due to the ability to get a large amount of simoleons from it and is therefore not allowed to be used in this challenge.
Sims can have children with Father Winter and do not need to marry him into the family
GET FAMOUS UPDATES
Sims may use and earn Fame and Fame Perks however you wish
Sims may take gigs to earn money
All aspirations & traits have been added to the generators
You may use the Quirk Be Gone potion to remove a quirk that you don’t like
You may give residence keys to friends as long as you don’t move them in.
You may start a new Legacy in Del Sol Valley on The Pinnacles lot and can do either a regular, extreme, or ultra extreme start.
The Crystal Crown is allowed to be used since the affects are temporary and the crystals aren’t always easy to find.
ISLAND LIVING UPDATES
You can take the Beach Life aspiration even if your Sims don’t live on Sulani. They just need to visit more often to complete the wants.
You can turn any Legacy Sims into mermaids using the Mermadic Kelp
Your founder can be a mermaid if you wish
Sims can participate in any island events that you wish
Sims may have children with the elementals even if they can’t get married to them
Sims may commune with the spirits
Legacy Sims may take part-time or odd jobs as you wish
Diving for treasure is allowed and can be used early on just like digging for treasure
You may start your Legacy in Sapphire Shores or Admiral’s Wreckage
Sims may participate in Island conservation efforts even if they don’t live on Sulani.
If your Sim is an Environmental Manager you may enact any policies that you wish.
DISCOVER UNIVERSITY UPDATES
You may send your Sims to college or do college from home. HOWEVER if you send your Sims to college one of the Sims sent MUST be the heir as time will continue to progress for the rest of the family.
Once you move your Sims into college you cannot move in other roomates. Only the ones you sent (it can be more than one).
Your Sim may enroll in any university.
The Legacy Legacy Handicap added to points. Want your Legacy family to have its own Legacy college? Choose either Britechester or Foxbury as your family’s Legacy college when you make your founder. This can be the only college that your Sims can attend throughout the challenge. So plan majors accordingly! Also make sure to donate money to the college that you choose.
JUNGLE ADVENTURE UPDATES
You may send your Legacy on vacation, but all family members must go
Sims may transform into skeletons since it is temporary
You may use Bone Dust on your Sims to prevent them from dying from the new deaths added in this pack
You may use the statues for both blessings and curses
When getting chance cards in the temple/jungle you may choose “Leave it alone” as an option.
STRANGERVILLE UPDATES
Your Legacy Sims may participate in the Strangerville Mystery storyline and take the aspiration even if they do not live there. They will just need to visit more often.
You may start your Legacy in Strangerville, but since the lots are smaller you just need to adjust your money accordingly.
REALM OF MAGIC UPDATES
New heir laws have been added to the Succession Laws section
Potion of Immortality cannot be used, Potion of Rejuvenation may be used once per Sim.
Founders and heirs can marry a spellcaster
Founders can start as spellcasters
Legacy can be started in Glimmerbrook, but since the lots are smaller just adjust your starting money accordingly
Can remove curses in any way available
Pets may be turned into familiars or you can find/buy new ones
STUFF PACK UPDATES
All items from stuff packs can be used without restrictions. The only exception is the Wishing Well which was discussed above.
If using the Tiny Living Pack you may let your founder start in a smaller house to meet the requirements for that pack to get the perks. You may either build a house or get one from the gallery.
Spouses
Spouses may not bring in any money with them when they move in/marry into the family. To prevent this, you may merge townies into families with one another prior to moving them in. A Sim who is not the last member of their household will not bring any money into the household. Alternatively, if a Sim does bring in money, use the money cheat to reduce the family’s new balance to whatever it was prior to the new sim moving in.
The restriction on the number of Sims moving into the Legacy family house has been lifted. You may now move in as many sims as you wish, as long as none of them brings in any money. You may have spares get married if you so desire and create ‘cadet branches’ within the household.
The first spouse who is brought into the household specifically to partner with the heir is known as the primary spouse. You may only have one “Primary Spouse” per generation, but may move in any number of secondary spouses.
With the update that allowed you to customize your Sims genders, you are able to have same-gender couples. There is no rule preventing this.
There have been many reports that the automatic generation of random townies peters out over time, leaving the dating pool barren. To combat this I am easing up on the restriction of using gallery sims for Legacy Challenge spouse material. On the gallery, look up #LegacyLoves (name suggested by BossJinja) any and all families you find there can be brought into your world and become eligible spouses. You can even add your own entries! Simply make one or more sims in CAS, then upload them to the gallery wiht the #LegacyLoves tag. Please do not upload pre-played sims to that hashtag as it remembers their skills. Please don’t write what the Sims’s traits are in the description. I don’t want people to be able to pick and choose what traits their spouses have.
*NOTE* If a spouse moves in with one of the tutorial aspirations, you may re-roll their aspiration using the Random Trait Generator (ignore the traits that it tells you, just look at the aspiration).
Children
Regardless of your succession law, you may always introduce children into your family via pregnancy (either natural or via the Science baby option) or adoption. (Bloodline law will determine which are eligible to be heirs). With the addition of The Sims 4 Get to Work alien babies can also be brought into the family via abduction. Children may only be adopted as newborns/infants. You may not adopt if there are any infants (natural born or adopted) living in the house at the time and must wait for them to grow to toddlers before adopting a new one. You may rename the baby, and it is recommended (but not required) that you change their last name to the Legacy Family’s name.
Regardless of their status, when an infant ages up into a toddler, you must roll for their toddler trait (and later their aspiration and their first trait using the calculator found here when they become a child). Be sure to put the traits of the two parents (even for adopted children) in the calculator because the algorithm it uses factors those in when generating random traits for the children. When the child grows into a teenager, you consult the calculator again for their teen aspiration and their second trait. Finally the calculator will be used to generate the third trait upon reaching young adulthood. If your Sim completes their Teenager aspiration before adulthood you can choose to use the assigned adult aspiration for some added randomness, or choose your own.
Update for Growing Together: You may use the in-game randomizer to choose an infant or toddlers traits. There is no longer a need to use our randomizer for infants or toddlers.
There is an option here to generate both aspirations and all three traits for a sim at once, though the proper method is to wait until the Sim ages up. And remember- No re-rolling! One of the hallmarks of this challenge is getting randomly generated children so you should keep the good with the bad. Since the traits of the parents have an influence on the traits of their children, you can try to engineer children by selecting spouses with desirable traits, but this is no guarantee.
You are allowed to use fruit and/or music to influence the gender of an unborn child, should you choose to do so.
The addition of Toddlers should not change the flow of your Legacy families, you just have a new age to deal with.
Ghosts
You may use the death flower to guarantee success when pleading with the reaper to save a dying sim.
You may NOT use ambrosia to resurrect a dead sim. (You may cook it and have living sims eat it if you wish)
You may invite ghost sims back into your family. However, they no longer earn your Legacy family any Legacy Challenge points. They may not purchase potions of youth, any completed skills, aspirations or other Legacy Challenge scoring methods do not count. They may not take a job. They cannot memorialize other sims. If they were a member of the Legacy Challenge family
Ghost Sims can still be memorialized but only by Sims that knew them in life.
An invited ghost who is no longer welcome may be moved out just like unwanted family members.
Click HERE for the trait generator. You may want to bookmark this page as you’ll be using it a lot!
Scoring
A total of 100 points can be earned in The Sims 4 Legacy Challenge.
(101 if using a handicap) (103 if using the Parenthood Pack) (106 if using the Seasons Pack) (107 if using Get Famous) (108 with Discover University)
The scoring categories are as follows:
Family: 10 total points
The Family point category is the most simple of all. You gain 1 point per generation to have an eligible heir reach young adulthood.
The scoring goes as follows:
One point per generation
The point is gained when the current heir reaches young adulthood
The challenge ends the moment the 10th generation child is born, since this child does not become a young adult, the 10th point needs to be earned by doing the following:
The 10th point is obtained by having/adopting 10 children in a single generation
Creative: 10 total points
Documenting and honoring one’s fallen ancestors is paramount to keeping the family Legacy strong. While family members live and die, they die happy knowing that they will not be forgotten.
Founder/heir and their primary spouse must be memorialized per generation. 1 point each generation.
Ways to memorialize are:
Write a song for a Sim (Sim writing the song must have Piano, Violin, OR Guitar skill must be 8+)
Comedy routine (Sim doing the routine must have Comedy skill of 8+), routine must be done at least once during a party.
Paint a portrait by choosing “Paint from Reference” with a Sim with a painting skill level 8 or higher.
Write a biography about a Sim (Sim writing the biography must have writing skill of 10).
Create a Video Game in honor of a sim. (Video Games require a level 9+ Programming Skill)
Take a photo of a Sim. (Must be done by a Sim with photography skill level 5)
This will earn you 9 points since challenge ends as soon as 10th generation baby is born
10th point is earned by having a single Sim complete two out of the three creative aspirations in their lifetime.
Fortune: 10 total points
While the founder starts off on an empty grass lot with pocket change to their name, a Legacy Family is expected to grow in wealth as more and more Sims succeed in life and bring in riches for the family to share and pass along to future generations. With the addition of The Sims 4 Get to Work funds from a business owned by the Legacy family now counts towards the family net worth. Funds from Veterinary Clinics in The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs will also count towards family net worth.
Points are earned by meeting the specific household worth thresholds as follows:
$75,000 = 1 point
$120,000 = 2 points
$200,000 = 3 points
$320,000 = 4 points
$510,000 = 5 points
$830,000 = 6 points
$1,300,000 = 7 points
$2,100,000 = 8 points
$3,500,000 = 9 points
$5,700,000 = 10 points (this MAY be replaced with having ALL Business Perks if your family owns a business)
Love: 10 total points
While the Legacy Family is the star of the show, one cannot deny the unique outsider perspective that the spouses bring in. A family with a deep and diverse array of lovers helps the Legacy Family grow both literally and in wisdom.
For every 3 unique traits that the Primary spouse (see the spouses section of the Gameplay Rules for more information on Primary spouses) brings into the family you gain 1 point for a total of 9 points by the end of the challenge. In order to receive the 10th point you must complete the entire Legacy Challenge. Once the 10th generation heir is born, this point will be earned.
Note: If playing with Seasons and using the Re-Traiting Potion only count the traits AFTER the re-roll of traits. Not the originals.
Knowledge: 10 points
Being skilled is one thing, but being a master at something is completely different. To demonstrate their mastery of many subjects, a Legacy Family must devote themselves to a life of study and practice if they ever want to be known for their skills.
You gain points according to the total number of skills that reach max level (either 5 or 10 depending on the skill) according to the following chart:
3 skills reaching max level = 1 point
6 skills reaching max level = 2 points
9 skills reaching max level = 3 points
12 skills reaching max level = 4 points
15 skills reaching max level = 5 points
18 skills reaching max level = 6 points
21 skills reaching max level = 7 points
24 skills reaching max level = 8 points
27 skills reaching max level = 9 points
Toddler & childhood skills count for the above totals just as much as adult skills do.
The 10th point is earned by having every skill reach max level at some point during the challenge. (Including toddler & childhood skills, can be done by different Sims in different generations). This does not have to be done by one Sim.
Athletic: 10 points
It is the goal of every athlete to push themselves. To hunker down and through the pain and sweat and push themselves the extra mile in order to achieve greatness. This category is about pushing your Sims to greatness through the fulfillment of their aspirations.
For every four (4) aspirations completed you will earn 1 point. A single Sim can complete multiple aspirations. Childhood aspirations count.
4 aspirations completed = 1 point
8 aspirations completed = 2 points
12 aspirations completed = 3 points
16 aspirations completed = 4 points
20 aspirations completed = 5 points
24 aspirations completed = 6 points
28 aspirations completed = 7 points
32 aspirations completed = 8 points
36 aspirations completed = 9 points
The 10th point is earned by completing every unique aspiration in the game across the entire family.
Nature: 10 points
All nature Sims love their collections, but a Legacy Family gets REALLY into collecting, and more than just rocks and frogs and such. Complete these 10 collections and be the envy of all collectors out there. You earn one point for each collection you complete. No partial points are given for partial collections. With the December update adding Business and Athletic, those careers are now needed to fulfill the career points in this category.
Complete 13 out of the 26 possible collections.
Have somebody die on the family lot in one of each of the 10 different ways to die = 1 point
There are 13 collections (out of 30 possible collections in the game) to complete to earn you points in Nature they are the following (these can be earned throughout the course of the game, NOT by a single Sim or generation) this will earn you a total of 5 points:
1 collection completed = 1 point
2 collections completed = 2 points
5 collections completed = 3 points
9 collections completed = 4 points
13 collections completed = 5 points
Have Sims within the household reach the top level of each career track = 1 point
Have Sims within the household reach the top level of both branches of every career track = 1 point
Collect every single emotional painting type (Angry, Sad, Playful, Flirty, Confident, Focused) = 1 point
Collect and store on the family lot every single consumable aspiration reward = 1 point
Food: 10 points
The food category is a buffet of tasks for your Sims to perform. Some easy, some difficult, but all related to food.
Earn one point for completing each of the following:
Purchase the most expensive fridge and stove and fully upgrade both of them = 1 point
Have a Sim make a highest quality version of Baked Alaska, the most difficult to make dish = 1 point (NOTE: Baking the highest level baking dish can be done in lieu of gourmet cooking to satisfy the ‘Highest Quality version of Baked Alaska’ point.)
Have a single Sim max the cooking, baking (if you have Sims 4 Get to Work) gourmet cooking, and mixology skills = 1 point
Have Sims complete both food aspirations in a single generation, they can be done by two different Sims = 1 point
Have a Sim get fat from your family’s cooking = 1 point
Have at least six Sims (family members or guests) all sitting at the table eating at the same time = 1 point
Reach the top of both food career branches = 1 point
Cook a meal with at least two fresh ingredients that are of the highest quality = 1 point
Have a Sim make their date a max-quality meal or mix a max-quality drink during a single date = 1 point
Serve a max-quality party-sized meal and mix a max-quality drink and serve both during a single party = 1 point
Popularity: 10 points
The only thing more legendary than a well-developed Legacy Family house is a Legacy Family house party! Making your home party central for the region will have everyone wanting to make friends with the family in hopes of securing an invite.
Points earned depending on the medals you earn from parties and dates. (This includes Toddler Playdates if you have the Toddler Stuff Pack)
Gold medal = 3 points – Silver Medal = 2 points and Bronze Medal = 1 point
You will need to keep track of how many medals you earn in each date or party in order to tally the totals up correctly. These medal points are tracked throughout the entire Legacy
9 Medal Points = 1 point
18 Medal Points = 2 points
27 Medal Points = 3 points
36 Medal Points = 4 points
45 Medal Points = 5 points
54 Medal Points = 6 points
63 Medal Points = 7 points
72 Medal Points = 8 points
81 Medal Points = 9 points
The 10th point is earned by having a single Sim get a gold medal in all the different types of parties AND a gold medal on a date. (This can be replaced by having earned all possible club perks in your Legacy club instead.
Deviance: 10 points
Many think of evil and mischief when they hear the word ‘deviance’ but in reality they are merely a Sim expressing their impulsive desires in a form that is harmful to others. Not all impulsive desires are harmful, but giving into them is the name of the game here. Now, condensing all their hard work into an elixir that they will never benefit from? Yeah that’s deviant.
Points are gained depending on the total number of potions of youth that are kept somewhere in the Legacy House unused. It is recommended that you keep these in a small room that Sims don’t have access to so they don’t accidentally drink them.
Potions of Life cost 1,500 aspiration points each.
2 Potion of Youth = 1 point
4 Potions of Youth = 2 points
6 Potions of Youth = 3 points
8 Potions of Youth = 4 points
10 Potions of Youth = 5 points
12 Potions of Youth = 6 points
14 Potions of Youth = 7 points
16 Potions of Youth = 8 points
18 Potions of Youth = 9 points
20 Potions of Youth = 10 points
Parenthood: 2 Optional Points
These points are optional and only if you own the Sims 4 Parenthood Pack.
1 point if you are able to get ALL of the upbringing traits (both positive & negative) at some point in the family (will not be on one Sim, but throughout the family history) this is not per trait, but in total
1 points if you are able to have a single sim grow up with all 5 traits manifesting (they don’t all have to be positive)
Seasons: 3 Optional Points
The Legacy Family Holidays:
Upon the death of your founder, create two new holidays. One must fall on the day your founder died. This holiday may be given any name, but must have only one tradition assigned to it: Remembrance. The second holiday should be created on the day your founder began the challenge…the 1st day of whichever season you started in. This holiday must also contain only one tradition. You may freely pick this tradition, but it should be a reflection of your founder. Either something they like to do, or a representation of their personality or a major life event that happened to them. With the death of each heir, add ONE tradition to EITHER of the two family holidays (but not both). This new tradition should also reflect something related to the heir that just died. Continue this as you play through your challenge adding a new tradition with the death of each generation’s heir. (Please note: The traditions will be added up to the death of the 8th generation heir. The 9th and 10th generation heirs will not get a tradition as they will still be alive at the end of the challenge. This is why the founder gets two traditions and not one.) Both holidays should qualify for days off from work/school. You may name either holiday whatever you want and may choose whatever decoration theme you wish (if any). Scoring:
1 point once one of the two holidays reaches a total of 5 traditions
1 point if you are able to have an heir reach gold level celebration status for a 5-tradition family holiday.
1 point if you are able to have all active members of a legacy household reach gold level celebration status for a family holiday.
NOTE: If you already have an established Legacy and are already a few generations into the challenge you can retro-actively add the two holidays in and add any traditions that apply. So for instance if you are already in the 5th generation, you’d add 2 holidays and then two traditions for the founder, and any additional traditions for the previous heirs that have already passed on.
Discover University Optional Point
The Legacy Legacy – Choose either Foxbury Institute or University of Britechester as your family’s Legacy College upon creating your founder. This is the only college your Sims in the Legacy family can attend and donate to throughout the challenge. Choose majors wisely! (1 additional Point)
Handicaps (adds 1 or 2 extra points)
With the addition of The Sims 4 Get Together you now have the option of including one handicap to your Legacy challenge that will net you an additional point if completed (which means that, yes, it is possible to now get more than 100 points in a Legacy)
Extreme Start (worth 1 extra point)- Follow the rules for this start in the Getting Started section, there are variations of it depending on which expansions you have.
OR
Ultra Extreme Start (worth 2 extra points) – Follow the rules for this new start in the Getting Started section.
Penalties: -3 points total
Nobody likes to think about the bad things in life. While your Sims are certainly expected to have their ups and downs, there are some downs that are especially low and reflect very poorly on a Legacy Family if they ever happen. This is a point category like all the others, except all points here are negative and subtract from your total score and your goal is to obtain 0 points here.
-1 point every time the power is shut off due to unpaid bills
-1 point every time the plumbing is shut off due to unpaid bills
-1 point per child/infant taken away by social services
Really Important Links
Random Trait Generator (All traits at once)
