The Sims 4: Growing Together expansion pack is designed to provide a more immersive and engaging gameplay experience by introducing a wide range of new features that cater to Sims of all ages. One of the key goals of this expansion pack is to enable players to establish more meaningful relationships with their Sims, and to help them grow and develop over time. In order to achieve this goal, Growing Together includes a variety of features that affect Sims of all ages. For example, milestones are a key aspect of the expansion pack and are designed to provide players with a sense of achievement and progress as their Sims grow and develop. These milestones can be earned through a variety of activities, such as reaching certain skill levels, completing certain tasks, or achieving certain life goals.
In addition to milestones, Growing Together also introduces new social and family dynamics that allow players to create more complex relationships between their Sims. For younger Sims, such as Infants and Toddlers, Growing Together introduces new quirks that can affect their behavior and personality. These quirks are designed to provide players with more control over their Sims' development and to allow them to shape their personalities and interests over time. Meanwhile, in older Sims can experience midlife crises, layoffs, work rivalries and lastly burnouts, which can affect their careers and personal lives. In that sense, Burnout is a noteworthy addition to The Sims 4, as it adds another layer of immersive experience to the game. Although it may not be the most significant feature, it can certainly make a Sim's life more challenging if it is not addressed properly.
How To Trigger Burnout
Burnouts can occur in any activity, such as painting or exercising excessively, and can negatively affect a Sim's mood if they are forced to continue working or practicing a skill without taking a break. Before a Sim experiences a Burnout, they will receive one of two Dazed moodlets: "Mental Block" or "Creative Block." Mental Block primarily occurs from doing too many "Work Hard" days back to back in their career without taking any vacation time, or from other activities like playing chess excessively. Creative Block, on the other hand, primarily occurs from activities like painting or writing excessively, which many Simmers tend to do as a freelancer job for their Sims due to its potential for earning money. If these moodlets persist for too long without the Sim taking a break from the related activity, they will eventually trigger the Burnout moodlet.
It is also possible for players to trigger burnout using cheats, which can be found under Expansion Cheats and Growing Together Cheats.
What Happens During A Burnout
If players are not interested in testing out all the new features in Growing Together or using them for storytelling purposes, they should try to prevent their Sims from experiencing burnouts. This is because burnouts can have a significant impact on their Sims' career and skill performance, as well as their mood, as they will receive a tense moodlet once triggered. This tense moodlet has a certain duration depending on the activities they are doing while experiencing it, hence can increase or decrease. Additionally, a notification is displayed to alert players that their Sims are experiencing burnout.
If not addressed, the burnout can worsen, increasing the strength of the tense moodlet. Furthermore, they will also receive a milestone for experiencing burnout. A bar indicating that the Sim is "Experiencing Burnout" is also visible on the career tab. While experiencing burnout, Sims will struggle to maintain high work performance, leading to difficulty with getting promoted, and they will also find it challenging to gain skills in their respective fields. Therefore, players should take care to avoid triggering burnouts to ensure their Sims continue to thrive in their careers and daily lives.
How To Prevent or Resolve A Burnout
To avoid the inconvenient Tense moodlet, players should prioritize preventing burnout by paying attention to the Dazed moodlets mentioned earlier. By engaging in activities that are different from those that trigger mental or creative blocks, players can entirely avoid burnout. Additionally, certain Sim characteristics, such as the laid-back reward trait from the Island Living expansion pack or the Workaholic lifestyle from the Snowy Escape expansion pack, can decrease the likelihood of a Sim experiencing burnout.
Once a Sim experiences a burnout state, players need to take action to remove the Tense moodlets and speed up the burnout timer. There are various activities that can be done to remove Tense moodlets, such as going for a jog, relaxing on the beach, meditating, having reflective walks, and even taking a vacation day from work. The duration of the Burnout moodlet can be decreased based on the packs players may own, and once it's removed, things will go back to normal. However, if players continue performing activities excessively, such as working hard, the duration of the moodlet will increase and eventually turn into a "Brain Block" moodlet. This moodlet works the same as Burnout but with a stronger Tense Moodlet of +4 as well as increased difficulty in skill gain, work performance and also faster decrease of Fun need. Players can also reduce this state, or wait for it to run its course.
The Sims 4 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.