This is my Sims 4 recommended mods list for improved game play. These are the mods I use along with my gameplay rules to achieve my specific play style.
Please note, some of these mods may not be fully updated to the current game patch, depending on when you’re visiting this page. Always double-check to make sure they’re updated before downloading or they may not work as intended.
Tip: I recommend organizing your mods by creator, as this makes updating easier. You can just check each creator’s website for updates when a new expansion or patch is released.
LAST UPDATE: 08/16/2021 – Added custom likes and dislikes.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Essential Mods
- Aspiration Mods
- Autonomy Mods
- Club Mods
- Environment Mods
- Finance Mods
- Fix & Overhaul Mods
- Hobby & Skill Mods
- Lifestyles & Sentiments Mods
- Likes & Dislikes
- Miscellaneous Mods
- NPC & Townie Mods
- Pregnancy Mods
- Realm of Magic Mods
- Retail Mods
- Retired Mods
- Romance & Relationship Mods
- User Interface (UI) Mods
- University Mods
- Default Replacements
- Sims 4 Tools
Essential Mods
Although I play with all the mods on this list, there are a few I could not EVER play without. These are my must-have mods for Sims 4.
- Have Some Personality Please – Adds more personality to your Sims. For example, romance Sims are more likely to do romantic interactions and mean Sims are more likely to do mean interactions. Removes idle chat and makes several other improvements.
- MC Command Center – This is Master Controller for Sims 4. Click here to see my MCCC settings.
- Quicker Sim Autonomy & Simulation Lag Improvements – You will need an account at Sims Asylum to download this mod. I use this instead of the Simulation Lag Fix because I find it works better in my game. I use the TS33(Default) version.
- Simulation Unclogger – Detects when a Sim causes the simulation to get stuck, rendering the game unplayable, and attempts to fix it.
- Whim Overhaul – This is an overhaul of the EA whim system which enhances the chances for family based whims and tunes down whims to buy new stuff. Special whims for: pregnancy, elder life stage, childhood phases, etc.
- UI Cheats Extension – Allows you to click on the UI and enter cheats directly. Example: Click on simoleons and change the amount. Click on relationship bars to change relationships, etc.
Aspiration & Trait Mods
These are my favorite mods to add new aspirations and traits to the game or improve the ones we already have.
- Grow up Aspiration – Adds the “grow up” aspiration for children from The Sims 2.
- Lifetime Aspirations Mod – Makes the aspirations more like they were in The Sims 2, with a single goal to be accomplished over a lifetime. Also adds a lot of new aspirations.
- New Emotional Traits – Adds several new emotional traits to the game. I do not use the extreme versions. I only use calm, insecure, oblivious, restless.
- New Hobby Traits – Adds several new hobby traits to the game including artisan, movie buff, and tinkerer.
- New Spa Day Traits – Adds two new traits to the game for Spa Day – health nut and high maintenance.
- Personality Mod – Adds reward traits from Sims 2 aspirations (family, fortune, romance, knowledge, popularity, pleasure) with custom whims related to each one.
- Trait Overhaul – This mod makes the existing traits more meaningful. I also love it because it stops Goofball Sims from constantly pranking their own toilets.
Autonomy Mods
These mods affect autonomy in the game. It’s one of the biggest problems in The Sims 4, and these mods can make the game much more enjoyable.
- Age Behavior Tweaks Part 2 (More Arguments) – Improves the behavior of different ages. For example, children will no longer autonomously do dishes and elders will not browse their phones, preferring to read. Plus, adds more types of arguments for Sims to have.
- Grab Wine or Beer from the Fridge – Sims will autonomously grab wine or beer from the fridge sometimes.
- No Autonomous Cooking – Stops your Sims from cooking meals autonomously, but they can still grab quick meals when they’re hungry.
- Parenthood Autonomous Traits Interactions – Makes interactions from parenthood traits autonomous.
Club Mods
These mods affect the club system that came with the Get Together expansion pack.
- Custom Club Activities – Adds a ton of new club activities. I like the ROM additions such as practice magic and read magic tomes, but it adds stuff for all expansions.
- More Club Activities – Adds herbalism, practice archaeology, collecting, and many more. I use these for my club system.
- More Club Icons – Adds a ton of new club icons for Get Together. I couldn’t live without this anymore because I use clubs extensively in my game.
Environment Mods
These mods change or modify the game environment in some way.
- Cube Map Remover – Removes the white square cube maps that give the game objects weird and unattractive reflections.
- Into the Light – Lighting mod that removes blue auras from around Sims and helps them blend into the world better.
- Out of the Dark – Lighting mod that improves indoor lighting, especially at night. Use together with Into the Light for the best experience.
Finance Mods
- LittleMsSam’s ATM Cards & Credit – I use the ATM machines in my banks. They allow your Sim to apply for credit. Compatible with the SNB mods below.
- SNB & SNB Bills – Creates an extensive financial/banking system similar to real life including bank accounts, direct deposit, bill pay, property tax, rent, and more! The Bills mod makes you setup your utilities when moving in and you have to pay a deposit just like IRL! I also use the SNB Financial Center Lot Trait that allows you to create realistic banks for your Sims.
Fix & Overhaul Mods
These mods fix some annoyances with the unmodded game or overhaul existing systems to make them better. Not listed are ALL the mods by Bienchenmods. I use a lot of her small fix mods, so please check out the website and see which ones appeal to you. There are too many to list here.
- Bite the Dust – Fixes just about ALL the issues with the Bust the Dust kit.
- Books Fixes & Edits – Gives books their proper covers when displayed and books lacking a display will now have one. Useful if you run Sim-owned bookstores.
- Career Overhaul Mod – This mod is a comprehensive overhaul of the game’s careers aimed at making career progression more difficult and engaging.
- Complete Cooking Overhaul – Allows your Sims to go grocery shopping and purchase ingredients for cooking meals plus so much more (cookbooks, more realistic ingredients, custom recipes.
- Less Musical Chairs – Fixes the unbearable group chat issue where Sims keep getting up and moving around from chair to chair constantly. (This mod hasn’t been updated for years, but still seems to work fine for me.)
- Sim Spawn Overhaul – Restricts townies to their home town so you will only see Willow Creek residents walking around in Willow Creek, etc. Has other options too. I use all of them for the best experience.
Hobby & Skill Mods
These mods impact hobbies and skills – like woodworking or handiness – in the game.
- Woodworking Table Rework + No Autonomous – Increases time it takes to craft items and increases their retail price, plus stops Sims from autonomously using the table.
- More Woodworks – Adds the ability to craft more items and furniture from the woodworking table. I use this mod so my carpenter can sell more useful items in his shop, but it’s also nice if you want to furnish a home using only what your Sim builds.
Lifestyle & Sentiments Mods
These mods tweak the lifestyle and sentiments systems to make them more realistic and fun to play.
- Reduced Random Positive Moodlets from Sentiments – As the title says, reduces the random positive moodlets Sims get from sentiments.
- Outdoorsy and Indoorsy Lifestyles Tweak – Makes this lifestyle make sense. The criteria in the vanilla game is ridiculous.
Likes & Dislikes
These mods add custom likes and dislikes to the game:
- Chess & Reading – Adds custom likes and dislikes for chess and reading.
- Homework & Soccer – Adds custom likes and dislikes for homework and soccer.
Miscellaneous Mods
These are mods that don’t fit into any other category.
- Basemental’s Alcohol – Sims get drunk and have hangovers. Place a bouncer on bar lots and teens who try to drink will be asked for ID. Teens can buy fake IDs. Bouncers tell your Sims to leave if they get too drunk.
- Flea Market Appears Every Sunday – Makes the flea market festival appear in town every single Sunday instead of every other Sunday.
- Less Frequent Surprise Holidays – Reduces the appearance of the annoying surprise holidays.
- Lock Door for Chosen Sims – Allows you to lock or unlock doors for specific Sims. Very helpful for businesses as you can lock doors for everyone but employees.
- No Chatter Clutter – Reduces the clutter of the “Friendly” pie menu, removing unnecessary interactions.
- No City Living or Island Living Names – Sims are no longer spawned with names from these expansion packs.
- Quick Shower/Bath – Get the optional no-towel add-on if you don’t want your Sims walking around in towels all the time.
- Transfer Inventory – Allows you to move all items from your inventory into the refrigerator with one interaction (instead of individual stacks).
NPC & Townie Mods
These mods impact NPCs and townies in the game. If you don’t know the difference between Sim types, here’s a lesson. NPCs are service Sims like butlers, maids, vendors, etc. Townies are the randomly generated homeless Sims found in “Manage Worlds.” Playable Sims are those created by Maxis (or you) that live in houses in the worlds.
- Better Butlers – Fixes a lot of the issues with Butlers in the game. Has a lot of optional add-ons, too.
- NPCC & NPCC Retail – The public free version of this mod has not been updated for a long time. I am currently a Patron to get the latest update and I think it is well worth the $3. COMPLETELY STOPS RANDOM TOWNIE GENERATION. This is the only mod I have ever found that stops ALL new townies from being generated. I highly recommend it if you have the money to become a Patron.
Pregnancy Mods
These mods impact pregnancy in the game.
- Miscarriage Chance – Adds a chance of miscarriage, death, infertility, with several options and add-ons to choose from.
- Woohoo Wellness and Pregnancy Overhaul Mod – Adds pregnancy wishes and preferences (some Sims may not want to get pregnant), birth control and condoms, interactions and reactions matching a Sim’s pregnancy wishes, termination of pregnancy, and much more! This has become a must-have mod for me and I couldn’t go back to playing without it.
Realm of Magic Mods
These mods tweak aspects of the game from Realm of Magic – spells, spellcasters, etc.
- Spellcaster Tweaks – Tweaks several aspects of casting spells and learning them in Realm of Magic. This makes playing a Spellcaster more challenging and entertaining.
Retail Mods
These mods impact the game’s retail system that came with the Get to Work expansion.
- Entrance Fee on Community Lots – I use this mod to charge a cover to enter bars and clubs.
- More Buyable Venues and Venue Types – Adds custom venue types to the game including ownable bars and clubs. Works well with the Entrance Fee mod above.
- Retail Overhaul – Must-have for retail play. Allows you to hire certain employees including the store owner and Sims from your own household. Also makes your employees actually work!
- Retail Shoppers Keep Stuff They Bought – Sims now keep the items they buy from your store owner. It will be in their inventory when you play them next.
Retired Mods
These are mods I have used before, but I’m no longer using in my current gameplay. I am leaving them here in case anyone sees them in old videos or streams and still wants them.
- 50% Lower Salaries – No longer required since I started using the Career Overhaul mod that includes this function.
- 50% Lower Salaries for Eco Lifestyle and Snowy Escape – No longer required since I started using the Career Overhaul mod that includes this function.
- Bookshelf Edits – Bookshelves come EMPTY with no free books and Sims cannot purchase books through them. I like my Sims to visit the bookstore to purchase books. NOTE: This became too tedious, so I removed it.
- Simulation Lag Fix – This mod alters the game’s time speeds so that sim autonomy does not cause massive simulation lag in instances where there are many autonomy requests. NOTE: I now use a simulation lag fix from a different creator that works better for me personally, but this is still a good mod!
- Meaningful Stories – I am not currently using meaningful stories, as I found that it amplified the emotions too much for my liking.
- Mortem – Overhauls the death system and makes it more realistic. No more vanishing corpses – your Sims must handle the body and everything that comes with death (funeral services, condolence visits, etc). NOTE: I found this to be too fussy and expensive for my Sims, especially when I’m playing a legacy challenge. It’s a good mod for realism, though.
- University Required Degree for Promotions – No longer required since I started using the Career Overhaul mod that includes this function.
Romance & Relationships Mods
These mods impact romance and relationships in the game.
- IR Divorce – Ask for a divorce and file divorce papers to get your Sims out a marriage.
- Wonderful Whims – Offers plenty of social, relationship, and pregnancy enhancements in forms of Attractiveness, Impressions, Personality Archetypes, Menstrual Cycle, Birth Control and many more. It’s wicked whims without the “wicked” parts. I love the realism this adds to my game, especially the “attraction.” Now you will know who your Sim is attracted to. Disable any parts you don’t like. See my review of this mod here.
User Interface (UI) Mods
These are mods that change or modify the game’s user interface.
- Expandable Build/Buy Catalog – This mod allows you to expand the catalog in build and buy mode like you could in Sims 2 and 3.
- More CAS Columns – Allows for more columns in CAS. I use the 4 column version, but there is also a 3- and 5-column version.
- UI Cheats Extension – Allows you to click on the UI and enter cheats directly. Example: Click on simoleons and change the amount. Click on relationship bars to change relationships, etc.
University Mods
These mods impact the University experience in some way.
- Shorter University Degrees – Makes university degrees require less credits to graduate.
Default Replacements
These are the default replacements I’m currently using in my game:
- Eyes #15 by Aveira Sims – These are broken and you’ll have to fix them yourself using the default replacement fixer listed in the Tools section below.
- Papillion Skin – Works as of the December 2020 update.
- Kijiko Eyelashes – These are not technically default replacements, but I use them to remove and replace the Maxis eyelashes.
- Zerbu’s Presets – Again, not technically defaults, but I use these with my defaults in CAS to make unique Sims. Provides a TON more presets for face shape, noses, cheeks, lips, eyes, etc.
Sims 4 Tools
These are not really mods, but various tools and programs I use to improve my gameplay.
- Default Replacement Fixer – I used this tool to fix the broken default replacement eyes I wanted to use. Also works for makeup, skin, and other defaults broken by patches.
It’s almost 2 am…I need to stop downloading mods and sleep. Between you and Puck it looks like I’m set. Never played with mods before, just cc. I do have a question. Do you know if the Patron version of NPCC is working as of January 2022? Considering biting the bullet and paying for it but I won’t unless it’s working…
Love your videos and blog posts. I think your playing style is really unique and sim-spiring. 🙂 Have a lovely day!
Hi, unfortunately it has not been updated for the latest patch and there’s no word from the creator. I’m very disappointed because I cannot play without it! So, I’m back to Sims 2. Hopefully, he will update soon. I think even if you’re not a Patron, you can see when the last update was made on his Patreon page. Sorry! I really hope someone else can create a mod that does the same thing in the future.
Well I’m glad I checked. Thanks for getting back to me.
You are a blessing for these mods. My game has never been better! Thank you cindy <3
You’re so welcome!
Thank you for this blog post, your recommendations have really helped my gameplay immensely. Thank you for your tips as always!
You’re very welcome!
the location of “retired mods” is a bit confusing and i would place it at the bottom. where it currently is makes it look like everything underneath it is retired, even with the separate headers.
My headers are in alphabetical order. But thanks for the tip!
sorry if this is not spose to be here lol but just wanted to say your totally my idle ^.^ i love your youtube channel and have been watching it a long time, Thank you for what you do ^.^
Hi Cindy!
I found a new version of Aveira Sims eyes — no need to fix it anymore 🙂
https://aveirasims.tumblr.com/post/662230923424792576/felicity-eyes-new-version-of-eyes-n15-its-been
I started modding to hell and back in ts4, and I’ll probably continue that trend when I get the other games. But I don’t know how to get ts2 or how to get my ts1 game to work.
Hey Cindy! First of all, I love your play style and just checked out your video about the Personality Mod with new whims and wanted to try it out, so I’m downloading these mods (right along with The Sims 4 again). I wanted to let you know that I can’t access the Mean Slap mod, it just takes me to the creator page. 🙁 It’s not a deal-breaker or a necessity, and I don’t know if anyone else is having this problem, but I thought I’d bring it to your attention. That’s all, can’t wait to try these out in my game once it’s done redownloading!
Also, IR Cheating has now been removed.
Thank you! I’ll be updating this post soon!
I am a big fan of the way you play the game! Thank you for listing your mods so it is easier to follow up <3
Thank you for stopping by meela!
Hi Cindy! Just wanted to let you know that under the ‘Club Mods’ you say that clubs came with get to work instead of get together. It’s not a huge issue but it did confuse me for a second 😂
Thank you for this list! It has single-handedly saved my Sims 4 game!
Thanks for letting me know!
Snow Accumulation Fix is still 404
The mod doesn’t work anymore.
This is a great list but I thought I’d let you know that the link to the snow accumulation fix mod now leads to a Patreon 404 error.
I just got the whim overhaul mod and already noticed a big difference while playing. First mod I’ve added to Sims 4 so far! No more sims wanting to buy a bee box. Yay!
Hey Cindy! Love your mod list, I’m using the majority of these for my own game <3
I did notice however that the walkby overhaul mod you have actually removes the npc dorm roommates in discover university. So fletcher for example would be alone in his dorm (I used the celeb quarantine). I ended up using lotharihoe's simspawnoverhaul which fixed the issue as I want roommates.
I'm not sure if you have encountered this issue or not (or it could be completely fine in your playthroughs) but thought I would let you know 🙂
Thanks for letting me know! I have only experienced this when I was using NPCC, but not walkby overhaul so I wonder if it’s a conflict somewhere. I will check out the other mod too!
Sorry for the re-reply! Lol. But I just had a look at Lotharihoe’s mod and I think it looks better! Good find! I will try this out and if it works for me, I’ll update the list to use this one instead of the other one!
Glad I could help!
I did not realize how bad my game needed a lot of these mods… thank you!
I love your list.
Thank you so much!!
anyone having trouble creating an account for the simsasylum.com. Ive contacted them, but not heard anything back yet..
Sometimes it takes a while with Sims Asylum. You might try a different email address too. If you can’t get in and need a mod, join our Discord and ask in the help section. Someone may be able to help out! https://discord.gg/ax5amx8
Hi Cindy thank you so much for this great list, its very helpful. If I could I would like to suggest a couple more finance mods. SimCity Loans and Allowance mod, both by Scarlett. They add realism! And SNB is made to work with loans.
https://scarletsmods.com/2020/07/23/allowance-mod/
https://scarletsmods.com/2019/10/06/simcity-loans-2-0/
Hi Cindy!
I came across your mod list about a month ago and cherry picked a few I thought would give me a good introduction to mods and suited my gameplay style.. safe to say I think I’ve been back almost every day to download at least one more! Lol.
I was wondering, I’ve become quite frustrated with the social interactions such as “friendly” listed alphabetically, as some of the more meaningful interactions are towards the bottom of the alphabet.. do you know of any mods that might change this up?
Thanks again for this list, truly game changing!
This is a great list of mods! I’ll try your style of playing sims, because usually I just lose fun far too quickly.
But it seems that the downloads from Brazen Lotus aren’t working any more..
Thanks for letting me know! I’ve updated the links to the correct working ones.
Thank you so very much for this comprehensive list. My game play has been much more fun, and I actually spent a few hours playing (rather than just building). I thought I’d share a mod I came across that gives teens aspirations and is modeled after the Lifetime Wishes of TS2. I’m going to try it out. It’s by SimmerJohn over at MTS.
Once again, thank you, Cindy!
Hi, I can’t get the link for Woohoo Wellness and Pregnancy Overhaul Mod to load up. Might just be me!
Thank you! It’s been updated!
Hey, I want to suggest a mod, called sim spawn overhaul by lotharihoe, which is similar to the walkby overhaul and the celebrity quarantined in del sol valley, but combined. Maybe Zeoro’s mods work better at restricting celebs since they are more dedicated? ? But my experience with sim spawn overhaul is pretty nice, so if anyone sees this comment, just letting you know that there is an alternative, with one less mod to mange. Also lotharihoe is a good modder as well, with some pretty neat mods and a funny name.
Hey Cindy! I absolutely love the way your sims looks in the sims 4. What default skin or facial details do you use? Have a great one! :))
I second this question, your sims’ skin looks gorgeous! I’m pretty sure it’s an overlay, since it works okay with the newest update.
Hi! I’ve added a default replacement section to the list with links to the skin and eyes I use. It’s not an overlay, but a replacement. 🙂
is it ok if i use all of them at the same time? no conflict because this list looks very helpful
Yes, I use every mod on this list together.
I gave up on The Sims 4 but now you made me want to give it another go so I redownloaded it!
Unfortunately it is SUPER laggy on my pc so I guess I’ll have to just stick to The Sims 2. Such a shame.
Do you have Eco Lifestlye? This pack makes the game lag, but if you disable it things go back to normal. If you don’t, I’d recommend getting the Simulation Lag Fix and Simulation Unclogger.
This is so cool. The Sims 2 was actually my first sims game, so it’s nice to see the timeline the way you did it. Looking forward to what you’ll do with Strangetown!
Thank you!
Thank you! I’ve been looking for ways of improving my Sims 4 experience but didn’t know what I wanted, lol. Thanks to your list, I have started my own new save file with a view to doing a long term world. Thank you, thank you, thank you! ps, did I say thank you?!
You’re very welcome!
Hey Cindy – A few of of the mods from patreon.com no longer work, unless I’m doing something wrong. I tried to download Walkby Overhaul and Age Behavior Tweaks and both give an error message that they are bad files.
Let me check them out and I will get back to you!
Just downloaded both again and they work fine for me. When do you get the error message? From your browser when you try to download them? In the game?
One day when you have time do you mind sharing your MCC settings with us? Love your videos btw!!
Hi! Yes, I’ll be sharing them very soon!
Could you update with which ones are free vs which ones have a payment block? I was so excited to implement these, thought about it all of last night and all day at work and all the ones I was most excited for have a pay wall. I wish they just charged a decent price for the mod instead of the monthly payment thing (totally understand that is out of your control, thanks for all you do!).
Hi! All of the mods on this list are free. None are behind a paywall. Some of them link to Patreon, but that’s just where the creator hosts them and they do not require payment to download them. Which ones are you having an issue with?
I just double-checked to make sure nothing changed and I was able to download them all with no problem. I did have one link that was incorrect, but it just directed to the creator’s main page (and I’ve fixed it now).
Thank you soo soo much for this! I’ve been looking for useful mods for my game and this really covered all my needs!
Glad to help!
This, together with your save files for fixing the stories of our sims, is pure gold! Do you play the Sims 4 as you play the Sims 3?
I play it as sort of a combination of The Sims 2 and 3. I’ll have my gameplay rules up soon!
I think the same thing as you about the sims. I really liked your videos. Thank you for producing this wonderful content. Love from Brazil.
Thanks Marcela!
Thank you for all your time and energy into this, yet again. I have most of these mods but definitely downloading the ones I don’t have.
So glad you found it helpful! Thank you!
Thank you for doing this! Your playstyle is very similar mine and I found a couple of mods I hadn’t heard of! So excited!
Glad to help! Thanks for stopping by!
Thank you so much for this list! I’m (really, really) trying to get back into 4 by making an integrated world/save file thing and the banking mod and home business will definitely help for sure!
You’re welcome! And yes, they help a TON!
Omg thank you very much, I wish all of this mods came in spanish too, but that is kinda asking too much, but probably after the new pack release, and all of this mods have time to update i’ll be downloading each and every one of them! I’m so excited! Lots of love from Costa Rica!
Glad to help Angela!