Sims 4: How To Change Traits With and Without Cheating


Sims 4. A Sim is expressing their genius trait in Create-a-sim.

When you create your Sim in Sims 4 you can assign specific traits to them. The traits will determine their personality and what skills they are naturally good at. Also, if your Sim has children, you can either choose their traits or they will develop their own as they grow up. However, you might want to change them at a later date. We're going to show you how to change traits with and without cheating.

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How To Change Character Traits

There are two paths you can choose when it comes to changing character traits for your Sim. One path is to use one of the several cheats that are available and the other is to spend a lot of satisfaction points to buy a potion. We've laid out each way below.

With A Cheat

The easiest way to change the traits of your Sim for free is to use a cheat. There are 3 cheats that you can use. Before you can use them, you need to bring up your cheat dialogue box by pressing "Ctrl+shift+C" on PC or all four shoulder buttons on consoles. In the dialogue box, type "testingcheats on" and this will allow you to use the following cheats:

  • traits.clear_traits: This cheat allows you to wipe all of the traits your Sim currently has and start from scratch.
  • traits.equip_trait [traitname]: This will give your Sim a trait of your choice
  • traits.remove_trait [traitname]: If you like most of the traits your Sim has, this cheat allows you to select only one to remove.

Create-a-Sim Cheat

Type "cas.fulleditmode" into the cheat dialogue box and exit the box. Then press shift and click on your Sim. You should be able to select "modify in CAS". This will take you to the create-a-sim menu you saw at the start of the game and you can freely change the traits of your Sim. If you try to do this without using the cheat, the traits will be locked and you cannot change them.

Sims 4 Trait Options In Create-A-Sim. The Genius trait has been highlighted and the Sim on the right is gesturing about the trait.
click to enlarge

Without Cheating

As you fulfill the whims of your Sim, you will be rewarded satisfaction points. You can use these points to buy a "Re-Traiting Potion" from the Aspiration Reward Store in-game. It will cost you 5,000 satisfaction points but is the only way to change the traits of your Sim without cheating. After you buy the potion you need to get your Sim to drink it. Once they've consumed the potion, you'll have the option to change some or all of their basic traits. However, you should remember that the potion will only work for the Sim it has been bought by.

Being able to create your own characters and change them at will is part of life in Sims 4. If you want to learn more about cheating in the game, take a look at our guide on cheats for PC and Consoles. Also, we have a guide that shows you the best mods to improve gameplay.

For more articles like this, take a look at our The Sims and Guides page.