The relationships that Sims have will gradually degrade over time. That’s called relationship decay and is the normal course of things. The process affects friendship relationships, as well as romantic relationships.
Let’s explore how the relationship decay process works, and how you can slow it down or stop it altogether.
What is relationship decay in Sims 4?
Relationship decay is the gradual reduction in relationship strength between two Sims. This process affects all relationship levels in both active and non-active households. Relationship decay often results in relationship culling where Sims simply forget relationships and become strangers again.
Keep in mind that relationships are culled based on their strength. The game removes low-level relationships first and then moves on to higher-level relationships.
Even best friends can become strangers if they don’t interact for a long time.
How does relationship decay work in Sims 4?
Relationships will start to decay two days after the last time Sims interacted with their friends. The decay process kicks in just after midnight.
If you leave a household unplayed, all the relationships will gradually go down until they eventually disappear. Low-level relationships are the first to decay.
On the other hand, higher-level relationships such as good friends and soulmates decay very slowly.
This can sometimes be a major problem, especially if your Sim is Unflirty. They need more time to develop romantic relationships.
If a household remains unplayed for a long time, the game will automatically reset all the relationships. As a result, Sims may only recognize their family, and completely forget neighbors and friends.
Relationship decay can sometimes prevent you from getting promoted. You need to develop and maintain high-level relationships with your boss and co-workers to get a well-deserved promotion.
How to prevent relationship decay in Sims 4
The best way to prevent relationship decay in Sims 4 without using mods is to keep up with your friends. Be sure to regularly interact with them using positive interactions.
If you level up your Charisma skills fast and make 20 friends, those friendships won’t ever decay on their own. This is a very handy bonus that you can unlock after finishing a challenge associated with the Charisma skill.
Moreover, if your Sim knows 25 other Sims, they’ll achieve the Celebrity Charisma skill challenge. The game will also reward them with a relationship bonus when meeting someone new.
In this manner, your Sim can become friends with everyone.
You can also prevent relationship decay by using the MC Command Center. You can either reduce the speed of relationship decay or stop the process completely. To prevent relationship decay, set the option to zero in MCCC.
Alternatively, you can also use Neia’s relationship decay mod to get the job done. The mod is called No More Relationship Culling.
Conclusion
Friendship and romantic relationships gradually degrade over time if Sims don’t interact with each other regularly. To prevent relationship decay, always keep up with your friends, and level up your Charisma skills. Alternatively, you can use mods to reduce the speed of relationship decay.
What do you think about the relationship decay system in Sims 4? Share your thoughts in the comments below.