How to Speed Up Death by Old Age in The Sims 4: An Expert‘s Guide
As a seasoned Sims player with hundreds of hours under my belt, I‘ve developed plenty of tricks to rush elder Sims to their graves when needed to progress my intricate gameplay stories. Whether you‘re also an experienced player or just getting started, this comprehensive guide will equip you with all the knowledge to accelerate aging and evade death in The Sims 4.
What Does "Death by Old Age" Mean in The Sims?
When a Sim reaches the elder life stage, a countdown timer begins towards their eventual death by natural causes. Elders have a set number of days they can survive based on the lifespan setting you chose:
Elder Lifespans:
| Lifespan | Elder Days |
|---|---|
| Short | 15 days |
| Normal | 24 days |
| Long | 54 days |
Once the elder‘s age meter completely fills up, they have a random chance of passing away each subsequent day. Their exact day of death can vary, but typically occurs within 48 hours after becoming fully aged.
So in normal lifespan mode, most elders will die 24-48 hours after their meter tops out. The game rolls the dice on death each day – but as players, we can load those dice to our advantage!
Speeding Up Death with Cheats
One of the most direct ways to end an elder Sim‘s life is by using cheat codes to trigger their demise.
Activating Cheats
First, you‘ll need to open the cheat console by pressing CTRL + Shift + C on your keyboard simultaneously. In the text field that pops up, enter:
testingcheats trueThis enables access to special cheats and commands.
Trigger Immediate Death
With cheats enabled, you can instantly kill any elder Sim you control.
To do this:
- Select your elder Sim
- Hold SHIFT and click on them
- Choose "Trigger Age Transition"
This will immediately trigger them to die as if from old age! No waiting around required.
Toggle All Death On/Off
You can also use cheats to toggle all Sim death on or off. This will prevent or allow aging deaths.
To turn OFF all death:
death.toggle falseTo turn death back ON:
death.toggle true This is handy if you just want to make all Sims immortal for a bit!
Strategic Gameplay to End Elders Faster
While cheats are the most direct route, you can also use some strategic gameplay techniques to accelerate elder death without outright triggering it.
Overexert Your Elder
One approach is to overexert your elder by pushing them too hard. Their low needs and energy make them very vulnerable!
Activities like:
- Exercising intensely for long periods
- Repeated WooHooing
- Getting in fights
Can overwhelm an elder‘s limited strength and endanger them. In many cases, overexertion leads to their swift death!
Be sure to monitor their moods and keep them in the red until they pass. No fun or rest!
Put Them In Harm‘s Way
Elders can also die from fires, electrocution, drowning, freezing temperatures, and more. Use this to your advantage!
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Have them cook often and start fires. Don‘t let them extinguish it! The Grim Reaper may pay a visit.
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Leave electronics exposed near water puddles for potential deadly zapping. A classic strategy.
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Remove pool ladders to tempt them into a watery grave.
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Lock them outside overnight in cold weather and hope they freeze.
With their deteriorated stats, elders won‘t fare well in dangerous scenarios you manufacture. Take advantage of their fragility!
Normal Elder Lifespans and Factors
What determines how long an elder will survive as they approach death‘s door? Let‘s look at the key factors impacting their aging rate.
Default Elder Lifespans
The default number of days elders survive based on the lifespan setting are:
| Lifespan | Days as Elder |
|---|---|
| Short | 15 days |
| Normal | 24 days |
| Long | 54 days |
So elders on short lifespan will die quickest at just 15 days once they reach that stage. Long lifespan gives you the most elder time at 54 days.
Random Death Chance
After the elder age meter completely fills, the game rolls a dice each day to determine if they will pass away. Their exact death day is unpredictable, but typically occurs within 48 hours after becoming fully aged.
Once a Sim is fully aged, their lifespan cannot be extended without cheats or potions. The dice roll determines when death comes knocking!
Factors Impacting Aging Rate
There are certain factors that can shorten an elder‘s lifespan:
- Overexerting themselves speeds up their chance of death
- Contracting certain illnesses may kill them quicker
- Bugs accelerating the aging rate
And some methods can prolong their life:
- Potions of Youth provide temporary boosted energy
- Potions of Immortality prevent death entirely
- Turning off aging in game settings stops it cold
Let‘s explore those last longevity options further…
Stop Aging and Live Forever
If you want to keep your beloved elders around permanently, there are a few crafty methods to halt aging entirely.
Stop Aging in Game Settings
You can completely stop Sim aging through the game settings:
- Open the Game Options menu
- Select Gameplay
- Change Aging to Only Active Household or No Aging
This will prevent aging for everyone outside or inside your active household. Elders can now survive indefinitely!
Potion Immortality
If an elder Sim is a spellcaster, they can brew up these magical elixirs:
- Potion of Immortality – Prevents death by old age
- Potion of Rejuvenation – Temporarily restores youthful energy
Drinking these regularly renders them immune to the ravages of time. Non-spellcasters will need an alchemist friend!
Beware Aging Bugs!
Due to some quirks in The Sims 4‘s code, Sims can sometimes age at bizarrely accelerated rates. Elders can go from adults to elderly in hours instead of days!
Some known aging bugs include:
- Transitions between maps or lots causing massive aging jumps
- Random glitches that trigger rapid, unintended aging
If you notice impossible aging, use cheats to reset your Sim:
sims.modify_career_outfit_tracker reset Save and reload the game. Their aging should be corrected when you load back in. Keep an eye out for these pesky aging issues!
What Happens When Elders Die?
Once an elder finally passes on, what becomes of any younger Sims left in the household?
If there are no teens or older Sims remaining in the home, then any leftover children will be taken away by Social Services.
To avoid this, be sure teens can care for themselves so the family unit remains intact. Adopting an adult Sim as a guardian can also preserve households with minors.
If you want children removed as well, then…well, I‘ll leave those morally questionable methods up to your own imagination!
Is Sims 4 Appropriate for Younger Gamers?
The Sims 4 has an official PEGI rating of 12+ due to suggestive themes, violence, and crude humor. However, parents may still have concerns about managing certain adult content for younger kiddos interested in the game.
Here are a few ways to tailor the experience:
- Disable romantic/WooHoo interactions.
- Install mods to reduce skin exposure and nudity.
- Enable language filters to censor profanity.
- Prohibit alcohol/drug use.
- Minimize violent fights and death.
Adjust based on your child‘s sensibilities. The game offers a lot of all-ages fun with proper customization. Multiplayer allows cooperation without mature themes. Supervise play initially to determine what feels right for your family.
Waiting for Sims 5? Why Fans Love Sims 4
With anticipation building for the eventual Sims 5 down the road, why do so many fans remain loyal to the now 8 years old Sims 4?
As a long-time Sims aficionado myself, here are the key ingredients that give Sims 4 such sticking power:
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Massive library of expansions keeps gameplay feeling fresh and dynamic. New content always on the horizon!
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Thriving custom content community creates endless clothing, furniture, and gameplay modifications.
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Mods allow you to tweak the game in unlimited ways. Tailor it to your perfect playstyle.
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Creative tools enable storytelling and control like no other game. Freedom to craft deeply personal virtual worlds!
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Multiplayer makes it easy to build communities and play cooperatively with friends. A social experience!
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Developers actively listen to fans and keep updating, refining features. The game keeps getting better.
After hundreds of hours playing The Sims 4 myself, I‘ve built entire worlds and experiences that will stay with me forever. While excitement stirs for the next generation Sims 5, there are still so many stories left to explore in Sims 4!
In Conclusion
I hope this guide has equipped you with all the knowledge needed to accelerate elder Sims‘ final days in The Sims 4. We covered crucial tips like using cheats, strategic gameplay, stopping aging, and more. Now you have the skills to control Sim aging and destiny like never before!
While we sometimes need to rush our elders along to advance our grand storylines, be sure to savor the special moments with them too before that last goodbye. Wishing you many more happy, wholesome hours in The Sims universe my friend. Game on!