The Starter Murkland Challenge: Your Post-Apocalyptic World!

Would you survive in the post-apocalyptic world? The new dawn has begun, and Murkland Challenge is here to test your resilience and survival skills. If you are ready to push some limits, keep reading to learn all you need to know about this awesome challenge!

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So, What is the Murkland Challenge?

Murkland Challenge is a Sims 4 challenge created by Brennachan and inspired by post-apocalyptic fiction. The Challenge takes place in the world of Oasis Springs, which is not turned into a Murkland.

The challenge puts your Sims in real survival mode and it’s huge. Since it is the post-apocalyptic ground that you will be playing on, all basic resources, such as food, water, and even running water for hygiene needs, are limited. Your Sim will have to put all their efforts into collecting things, finding roundabout ways to satisfy their needs, and earning simoleons by selling what they gather.

Everything aspect of their life is impacted, from their romantic life, the way they earn simoleons to survive, to how they travel, and what they can buy or sell. To complete the challenge, your life here will completely be off the grid. Let’s see what the Murkland Challenge is all about in detail!

how to get started?

Before we get into the Murkland challenge tasks, let’s get you all set up to start it, first. We need to prepare the post-apocalyptic world, create your Murklander Sim, and move them in. The creator of the challenge has prepared 17 new replacement households, including lots with zombies and ghosts, and one for you to start on. You can also download 16 replacement community lots for the Murkland, including places like the Fire and Music Festival, or Murkland Hot Springs. 

Now, the Murkland challenge is every player’s choice. This means you can either commit to the challenge or have fun in the Murkland any way you like. However, to complete the challenge and respect the guidelines, placing all lots is a go-to option. Let’s start!

Step 1: Rearrange oasis springs

To start with the Murkland challenge building, the first thing you will need to do is prepare the terrain and set the weather (if you have Seasons). To do that, go to Oasis Sprigs and clear out all prebuild buildings and homes, and replace them with special lots created by Brennachan. We are turning Oasis Springs into a dirty, utopian place filled with clutter and survival stuff. To get the creator’s lots and homes, you will find them on The Sims Forum, posted by the challenge creator under Links to All Households and Lots.

Because of the Seasons update, all lots and households have two links, one if you don’t have Seasons installed, and the other if you do. Those who are made for the Seasons are heat and cold-proof Sims that won’t suffer due to weather changes. Alternatively, you can turn off the effect of the weather on Sims. You will still get your seasons, just not have Murklanders be affected by it. Or, leave it turned on and ask every Murklander you meet to change into something warmer or looser, depending on the weather by clicking on ”See Outfit”.

Step 2: Choosing Your Main Character for the Challenge

For the Murkland Challenge, you are allowed to have one main character in your active household. You have two options. You can either start playing with a character called Dusty Boots, or create a brand-new Murklander. If you chose to do so, Dusty can still be your neighbor. 

If you decided to create your own post-apocalyptic protagonist Sim, always choose Friend of The World as your aspiration, which you will have to complete as a part of the challenge. One of their personality traits will need to be Glutton, as this will allow them to rummage for food. They also shouldn’t have the Kleptomaniac trait, as such theft tendencies, could easily get them simoleons every time they travel to Granite Falls or pay a visit to a Murklander friend. The same restriction applies to the Vegetarian trait. We want them to do things the right way and the harder way, and not enjoy eating plants as much, as they will be eating plenty of those. 

Just because you aren’t allowed to be a Klepto or a Vegetarian in the Murkland challenge, doesn’t mean other pre-made Murklanders aren’t. So, expect some thieves (and vegetarians).

A TIP: Don’t choose a Neat personality trait. You will be living in junk, and growing trash plants, so you’ll have to be extra careful to lose your potential trash plant pile to their need to clean stuff.

Step 3: Moving into Murkland Starter home

Once you have selected your character, you will need to place a Murkland Starter on an empty lot, and move in there. Place it on an empty Nookstone lot in the Bedrock Strait neighborhood.

Welcome to Murkland! Here you are on your new lot. Modern life conveniences, electricity, internet or tap water are restricted or not functioning at all. You will be starting your Murkland challenge with no household funds, and for that, you will need to use a cheat. Open a dialogue box by clicking on SHIFT + CTRL + C, type in Money 0, and press ENTER. This will take your simoleons down to 0. You are now officially ready to start anew.

Your chosen active Sim will get a tent to sleep on, a cooler for the food, a bush for the toilet needs, a campfire pit, and a grill for preparing food. There are also some planters for growing trash fruit, and a special table for selling stuff you don’t need. Since this is your new home, you are allowed to build and edit your lot all you want. Just make sure that once you have some simoleons you don’t buy anything that runs on electricity. 

getting those needs met!

In Murkland, there are new rules you will be living by. As a part of the Murkland challenge, you will need to figure out how to take care of your Sim’s needs. After all, your home looks like a really poor camp. Besides needs, let’s also cover travel rules. This is what you will need to do.

1. Hygiene

With limited access to running water, hygiene will be quite a concern. Your Sim will have to bathe in Mukland Hot Springs, as there are no playable showers available in the Murkland. Remember that you can bathe here only once on given bath days, so make sure to soak and pamper yourself to get that hygiene meter as green as possible!

Luckily, Murkland challenge allows your Sim can also freshen up in one of the public bathrooms when visiting Granite Falls or use a shower tarp (if they are lucky to get one when fishing). 

No matter what option you are going for, you can’t shower on any day you like. Shower days are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The rest of the week you’ll have to get by using a deodorizing cream. 

2. Bladder

Oh no! Your bladder is full but there are no toilets in Murkland! Well, in Murkland challenge, your Sim will have to turn to what’s left of mother nature and use special toilet bushes, like those you have in Jungle Adventure. You will find one on your lot when you move in, but also in various spots in Murkland, so this won’t be a big issue.

The good news is, that if you are traveling to Granite Falls, you can use public toilets anytime on any day. However, if you are going over to someone’s home, toilets will be out of your reach. Make sure you don’t embarrass yourself and empty the balder before you go socializing!

3. Hunger

Don’t be embarrassed to rummage for food! The Murkland challenge put you in real survival mode, so everyone here is doing it! Get ready to eat trash fruit (Remember, at least once a day), or get food from stalls and at Puffer Dome restaurant at Murkland. Luckily, not all you eat will come from trash. You can also eat wild plants and fish.

Although they can fish, they can’t eat the fish they catch. The only edible species is Bonefish, but to eat it, they need to purchase (not catch) it from the Murkland Mercantile Company. You can purchase it from the fish bowl from your lot. This means everything you catch, including fish, can only be sold to earn you some simoleons.

Instead of a fridge, you will be using a cooler. These are restocked regularly by Murkland Mercantile Company (they own pretty much everything here) if you pay your bills.

4. energy

In Murkland, to stick to the original Murkland challenge, you will be a regular camper, so to get rested, your Sim will have to use a tent on their lot. When they are traveling to Granite Falls, they will have to sleep outdoors, on long benches only. You can’t sleep over in Hermit’s bed, or anyone else’s, for that matter.

5. Social

Thank Universe, at least social life continues as regular. Well, kind of. Although their social life will be rich, as they can befriend anyone, even zombies (the Infected), their romantic life will suffer some restrictions. Murkland challenge will allow your Sim to only date, but not marry or have kids. 

Since conditions for raising kids in Murkland are not so great, avoid pregnancies at all costs. The only child you are allowed to have is a human-alien lovechild, so the only pregnancy option is to get pregnant by an alien from alien abduction. The guide by Brennachan warns you that these toddlers will have to eat trash fruit, and you will have trouble meeting their hygiene needs. They will use a potty for bladder needs and sleep in a bed you can purchase. 

6. Fun

If you are bored, invest some simoleons in a fun game, like chess or Lamma Jenga! The only thing they are lacking in the fun department is electronic devices and gadgets, such as computers or games. However, in the Murkland challenge you can still buy and use anything that doesn’t require electricity.

Ever tried living as a homeless Sim? If you want to try out the homeless challenge, learn more about it here.

7. Travel

While completing the challenge, your movement will be restricted. In fact, you will have an access to Granite Falls and Granite Falls secret lot (Hermit’s House) only, but unlike in the Granite Falls, they will be restricted from using the bathroom, shower, or any other facilities there.

Before you embark on any journey, make sure your inventory is empty, and the Murkland Challenge doesn’t allow you to bring anything when leaving Murkland. You will be allowed to invite other Murklanders to travel with you. That’s of course when you make friends. This is the only instance in which you can use your cellphone. 

There is also an option to turn Newcrest in Nukecrest and to travel there too. However, for that to work, you will need to place homes and builds from Murkland Challenge on those empty lots. 

What do you need to do to complete the Murkland Challenge?

Now that you are all set and ready to start, it’s time to evaluate your Murkland Challenge objectives. Finally!

1. Learn to make a deodorizing cream – You’ll have to reach level 2 Herbalism skill to learn the recipe for Deodorizing Cream (For which you will have to travel to Granite Falls), as this will be necessary if you don’t want your Sim stinky.
2. Grow 16 Trash Plants of perfect quality – To pass the Murkland Challenge, your character will have to pant, tend to, and successfully grow 16 trash plants. Each of those plants will need to be of superb quality and grown from your own trash.
3. Eat Trash Fruit every day, at least once. 
4. Max out Dancing (Level 5) & Gardening (Level 10) skills
5. Fulfill Friend of the World aspiration – The third skill they will have to max out is a Charisma skill, which is one of the requirements for completing stage III of the Friend of The World aspiration – another Murkland challenge requirement.
6. 15,000 Simoleons – You are starting with $0, so you will need to collect $15,000 to complete the challenge. 

Your Sim will have to live alone the entire time to complete the challenge. This means no marrying and no inviting others to move in, or moving in with someone. Let’s break them down one by one.

1. How to make the deodorizing cream?

In a world where running water is a luxury, deodorizing cream is a must for keeping that hygiene bar as green as possible. However, to make one in Murkland challenge, you will need to learn the recipe first and get the ingredients, which means you will also need to reach Level 2 Herbalism skill. 

You will get your Herbalism skill to level 2 just by collecting plants. Click on them in your Inventory and select ”Attempt to Identify” to charge the skill bar and unlock level 2. This will then unlock the deodorizing cream recipe. 

The ingredients you need for the deodorizing cream are growing in Granite Falls, so get ready to travel. You will need 1 Elderberry, 1 Strawberry, and 2 Parsley. Try finding these in Granite Falls National Park or in forest areas. Strawberry and Elderberry can also be found around the Campground, and for Parsley, try exploring the area around the Ranger Station or the outdoors around the Hermit’s House. Once you have all the ingredients, just brew them at your home lot using a grill. 

However, unfortunately, due to Murkland challenge rules, even if you have a bountiful of ingredients, you can’t sell deodorizing cream and you can have only one at a time. 

2. How to grow 16 Trash Plants of perfect quality?

What’s that hideous smell?! Oh, just the trash piles, getting ready to sprout! One of the main goals of the Murkland challenge is to grow trash fruit. For that, you can’t use anyone else’s trash. Use your trash and leave it on bare ground and make sure your Sim doesn’t collect it. The pile will get super stinky, and your character will get super uncomfortable with their surroundings.

However, be brave for this one, as you need to be patient and wait for a few hours and track changes on your pile. Once the green odor surrounding the pile is gone, your trash is ready to grow into a trash plant. It will turn into a plant after a day. You can then move it to planter boxes.

To grow it to a perfect quality you will need to fertilize and weed the plant. However, your big challenge here will be that your Sim won’t always be in a mood to tend to their garden if their needs are not met. This will especially be a problem in the beginning, until they learn to make the deodorizing cream for hygiene. So, be patient with your Sim!

A TIP: To get results faster in the Murkland challenge, make sure you start making trash piles as soon as you can on your lot. If the smell of trash is bugging your Sim too much, you can build a tiny box room and put your trash there until it sprouts. Just make sure you don’t add any floor as trash needs to be in constant with the barren ground. Once it becomes a plant, just move it to the planter outside.

3. snacking on Trash Fruit every day

One of the daily tasks they will have in the Murkland challenge is to eat trash fruit at least once a day. It sounds yucky, but your Sim will be fine. This is the only plant they can grow on their lot. However, when you are just starting, you will have no trash fruit ripe and ready to eat yet.

In this case, worry not. You can harvest some from other Murklanders’ yards. Feel free to take a few if you find them, to have a food reserve for the first day or few. However, do know that these are just for eating, and can’t be planted since they are not yours.

5. Fulfill Friend of the World aspiration

Luckily, you aren’t alone in this utopian chaos. Don’t be shy, and muster the courage to meet others, as the only chance to do that in Murkland Challenge is in person. As you work towards completing the Friend of the World Aspiration, you will be required to introduce yourself, meet new people, and make new friends. To finalize the aspiration your Sim will have to make 20 friends, max out the Charisma Skill, and find a BFF. However, don’t be tempted to buy potions from the Reward store, as you are not allowed to buy one. The same applies to the Carefree Trait.

Murkland challenge restricts cell phone use, so if they do, they will have to go over to their friend’s house and hope they will be home. Make sure you have met the people you want to visit, first, as you are allowed to visit only those Murklanders you know. The cell phone function should be allowed only when traveling. However, you will still be getting messages from other Murklanders.

Put on some of that deodorizing cream, get in the right mood, and get ready to socialize. Fire & Music Festival, Hot Springs, as well as the What’s Left of the Gym, are perfect spots for meeting fellow Murklanders and chilling. In the Murkland challenge community, Sims will be stopping by to check out your yard sales regularly too, so use that chance to introduce yourself.

6. What you can sell to get 15,000 Simoleons?

Now that they don’t have a job and the old monetary system has collapsed, your Sim will have to get simoleons the alternative ways. They can’t have a job and also won’t be able to earn by selling handmade art, such as woodwork and paintings.

So, the main source of income will be the stuff you fish, and plants they find, dig out, collect and find in the trash via rummaging. If you are lucky, you can find random valuable objects when digging, as well as crystals. You can also earn money by selling your homegrown trash fruit.

With plants and fish, your best bet for the Murkland challenge is woods and ponds in Granite Falls and around the Hermit’s House, as this location is a home of rare valuable species. Granite Falls is rich in stuff, too. The good news is, you can sell almost literally anything, as even the leftovers are sought after since the beginning of post-apocalypse times. You will be selling all you find on a special table on your lot by organizing a yard sale.

more guidelines for living in Murkland

Living in Murkland, you will have to be your own boss selling stuff at yard sales, pay bills and respect the Murkland challenge community by respecting lot restrictions. Let’s see what this is about.

setting up your yard sale!

If you have something to sell, you can’t do it directly from your Sim’s inventory as you would normally do.

See that empty table next to the campfire on your lot? That’s where you will be selling. Go to your inventory and drag out to the table all items you’d like to sell. If they are not appearing on the table yet, don’t worry. Just click on the table and select Stock Table. Click on the table again and select Start Yard Sale, and ta-da! The next thing you know, you’ll see folks coming to your place. Your sale is ready to start! You can Mark Up Prices and go from 25% to 300% for your Murkland challenge. If nobody is buying your stuff, try experimenting with princesses, as maybe not every Murklander can afford what you are selling. 

Paying bills

Despite living on practically barren land, you will still have to pay bills. So, make sure you have enough simoleons for that guitar you’ve been eyeing and be a smart spender. Every Monday, you will be receiving some bills to pay. So, do what you can to earn some Simoleons in that 7-day time frame selling stuff. You will need your cooler restocked. Expect to cash out around $500 simoleons or so.

getting around the murkland

The whole utopian theme of the Murkland challenge brings with it some restrictions regarding visiting other lots and households. Most residential lots are accessible if you befriend folks living there, but some community lots have restrictions. These are:

•  Acquisition Faction was once Acquisition Butte. This is where the rich are, so you are restricted from visiting these unless you have mastered Level 8 in Charisma skill, and Level 7 in Gardening, no matter if you befriend them or not.

• Oasis of Portails is found in the center of the Murkland and is a post-apocalyptic replacement of the Desert Bloom Park. Access to it is basically restricted unless you have maxed out the Wellness skill.

• Overgrown Library is open for bookworms from 10 AM to 6 PM, but you will have to pay for a barista to give a contribution to the community. Befriend the librarian when playing the Murkland challenge, and stay at the library the whole day if you like.  

•  Murkland Mercantile Co. is owned by the Salamanders. It is here where you can buy stuff needed for survival, including coolers, food, or stuff for your camp. Prices here are pretty high, though. If you wish to use the bathroom, you may do so, but only if you bought something. Sadly, the kitchen area is restricted.

more related Challenges to try

The Murkland Challenge includes two extra side challenges. However, these are optional so you won’t fail the main challenge if you fail at completing these. ”What’s Left of the Gym Side Step Challenge” and ”Overgrown Library Side Challenge”. You can read more about the requirements for these in the original challenge post.

When you finish with the Starter Murkland challenge, you will have an option to play the next challenge – Murkland Challenge 2. This one will depend on whether you were a good citizen and paid your bills, or not. These are the two:

• If you paid your bills – Paid the Bills: Vardo Side of Challenge 2
• If you avoided paying bills – Murkland Challenge 2 Did NOT Pay Bills: Jail Side of the Challenge

Your Sim can face the reaper at Puffer Dome restaurant. If they die, you will be playing with a zombie! In that case, you can also play the Zombie Challenge.

conclusion

These were the basic guidelines for starting your post-apocalyptic adventure. The Murkland Challenge is a huge challenge. It gives you so many fun tasks and really puts you in fight-or-flight mode, and in the best possible way. So, if you are interested in adding some good spice to your Sims 4 playtime, definitely give this challenge a go!

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