Calling all completionists! While playing around in the Sims 4, you might have sent your Sim on exploration, and they came back with a new little treasure in their inventory. Whether your Sim is a fan of collecting pretty rocks, cute frogs, shiny metals, or cool fossils, this guide will show you important tips and tricks for how to complete collections – if your Sim is up to the challenge!
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General Tips for Completing Collections
One known issue in the Sims 4 regarding collecting is that if your Sim moves households, their collection can get reset. Make sure that when your sim collects an item, they keep at least one of each in case you decide to pack up and move.
Spawners take time to reset, similar to the plants that take time to fully grow – about 12 hours in-game. Your sim can either hang out at your neighbor’s houses or to make it easier, if you have Outdoor Retreat, have your sim set up a camp with the camping gear. You can also have your sim make multiple travels to different spots where collectibles spawn, check around your neighborhood and especially look in the parks!
If you want one sim to complete every collection, you will need to turn aging off – it’s not possible, even if your sim has a long lifespan, and even if you’re only collecting the base game items.
Best Skills and Aspirations
Depending on which collection your sim decides pick first to start collecting, giving them the best skills and aspirations are super important.
The Curator aspiration is recommended because not only does it give your sim a higher chance of finding rare collectibles, the reward for completing it is the appraiser trait, which allows your sim to sell their collectibles to the Simsonian Museum for a much higher price than usual. Traits to help your sim complete the Curator aspiration are Loves the Outdoors and Loner because your sim is going to be spending most of their time alone and outside searching for the items to complete their collection. The last trait your sim should have is Geek, as this will increase the chance of finding rare items, and also boost their mood with a confident moodlet when finding a new collectible.
The Curator aspiration stages:
- Out and About: Collect 10 Collectibles
- Gatherer: Collect 5 Crystals, Collect 3 Frogs, Collect 3 Fossils
- Treasure Hunter: Send 5 Items to the Geological Council, Breed 5 Frogs, and Collect 5 Elements
- The Curator: Complete a Collection, Collect 25 Collectibles
Once your sim has completed this aspiration, they should then choose a Nature aspiration, because it will give them the Collector Bonus Trait, making it more likely for them to find rare collectibles.
Nature Aspirations: Angling Ace, Freelance Botanist, Outdoor Enthusiast, and Eco Innovator (Eco Lifestyle)
Choosing Which Collection to Start
Some collections are easier to complete than others. You might want to start with an easier collection, but be sure you focus on just one at a time so that you don’t get overwhelmed – there’s a LOT to collect in the Sims 4!
In total, there are 33 collections: 16 base game and 17 from expansions and stuff packs.
Base game collections: Aliens, Crystals, Elements, Fish, Fossils, Frogs, Gardening, Metals, Microscope prints, MySims trophies, Postcards, Space prints, Decorative eggs, Sugar skulls, Magic beans
Stuff packs and expansions collections: Insects (Outdoor Retreat), Geodes (Get to Work), Experimental food prints (Dine Out), Voidcritter cards (Kids Room Stuff), Snowglobes, City posters (City Living), Feathers (Cats and Dogs), Ancient Omiscan artifacts, Omiscan treasures (Jungle Adventure), Magical Artifacts (Realm of Magic), Simmies (Snowy Escape), Village Fair Ribbons (Cottage Living), Messages in Bottles (My Wedding Stories)
Other: Holiday Cracker Plushies, Positivity Posters, Seashells, Buried Treasure
Sims 4 collections: Tips on Collecting Frogs
The easiest collection, and in my opinion, the best collection – frogs! Have your sim hang out for a few days in the Sylvan Glade Pond.
If your sim hasn’t yet discovered Sylvan Glade, they will need to head to Crick Cabana in Willow Creek where you will see a big, winding tree called the Sylvan tree. Your sim will have to interact with the tree a few times in the correct order until each following dialogue option appears: view, water, chat about roots, compliment on leaves, and then explore. Keep in mind, that it will take a few times for the following option to appear. After you get the explore option, your sim will enter the tree and will begin a Tree Adventure. You will have to select the options in the correct order: Follow the Sound, Follow Downstream, Enter the Mist, and Travel to Glade. If you don’t get the order correct, your sim will get booted back out of the tree, feeling embarrassed – but keep trying!
There is a total of 25 different frogs to collect. Once you complete the frog collection, your sim will be awarded a plaque titled “Forlong Frog Friend.”
Common
Striped Leaf Frog, Striped Dirt Frog, Dirt Frog, Leaf Frog, Heart Frog, Spotted Leaf Frog, Spotted Dirt Frog, Eggplant Frog
Uncommon
Surfer Leaf Frog, Tiger Frog, Leopard Frog, Striped Eggplant Frog, Striped Heart Frog, DirtSurfer Frog, DirtWhirl Frog, Spotted Eggplant Frog, Spotted Heart Frog, Sunflower Frog, Hypno Frog
Rare
SunSurfer Frog, Eggplant Whirl Frog, Bullseye Frog, Heart Surfer Frog, Whirlyflower Frog, Surfer Eggplant Frog
Sims 4 collections: Tips on Collecting Fish
Most fish will need to be caught from the various fishing spots located in parks and neighborhoods wherever there is either a fishing sign or a small pond. If you have Seasons installed, your sim won’t be able to fish if the temperature is freezing.
You can buy an aquarium and purchase a lot of the fish you need from there without the hassle of going out and fishing for them. If you have Cats and Dogs, you can also go to the pet stores and buy fish there. Make sure that when you do fish, you are mounting or putting them in an aquarium or fishbowl as they will decay sitting in your inventory – gross!
Across all expansions and packs, there are 52 fish to collect in total: 24 in the base game, 14 in Island Living, 5 in Outdoor Retreat, 3 in Jungle Adventure, 3 in Spa Day, 2 in City Living, and 1 in Vampires. You will only need to collect the base game fish to finish your collection. Upon completing the fish collection, your sim will receive the plaque “The Right Angler”.
Base game:
Common
Bass, Goldfish, Guppy, Koi, Minnow, Perch, Salmon, Tetra, Trout
Uncommon
Angelfish, Betta, Catfish, Kissing Gourami, Tilapia, Wolf Eel
Rare
Anglerfish, Batfish, “Captain Fishbones” Bonefish, Gummie Guppie, Piranha, Rainbowfish, Red-Tailed Black Shark, Sturgeon, Treefish
Island Living:
Common
Celestial Grouper, Clownfish, Mahi Mahi, Neon Angelfish
Uncommon
Bluefin Tuna, Butterflyfish, Fighting Plakat, Parrotfish
Rare
Golden Mahi Mahi, Green Plakat, Leopard Shark, Royal Sabrefish, Scorpionfish, Swordfish
Outdoor Retreat:
Common
Walleye, Yellow Perch
Uncommon
Red Crawdad
Rare
Blue Crawdad, Moutain Lionfish
Jungle Adventure:
Common
Tambaqui
Uncommon
Armored Catfish
Rare
Electric Eel
Spa Day:
Common
Cichlid
Uncommon
Discus, Exotic Goldfish
City Living:
Common
Tuna
Rare
Pufferfish
Vampires:
Rare
Vampire Squid
Sims 4 collections: Tips on Collecting Plants
To complete the plant collection, your sim will need to have the Gardening skill.
Level up your sim’s Vampire Lore skill to level 8 if you have the Vampire pack, as there are some plants that you can get from planter boxes instead of waiting for the plants to mature.
There are a total of 93 different plants to collect in Sim 4: 32 in the base game, and 61 in content packs. With SO many plants, there is some good news: Your sim will only need to harvest one of every base game plant (except the death flower and plantain) for the gardening collection to become completed. Upon completion, your sim will be awarded a plaque titled “Go, Green Thumbs!”
Base game:
Common
Apple, Basil, Bluebell, Carrot, Chrysanthemum, Daisy, Grape, Lemon, Mushroom, Parsley, Plantain, Sage, Snapdragon, Spinach, Trash Fruit
Uncommon
Cherry, Lily, Onion, Pear, Potato, Rose, Strawberry, Tomato, Tulip
Rare
Bird of Paradise, Blackberry, Bonsai Buds, Cow Berry, Dragonfruit, Orchid, Pomegranate, U.F.O (Unidentified Fruit Object), Death Flower, Growfruit, Forbidden Fruit of the PlantSim
Outdoor Retreat:
Common
Chamomile, Toxic Chamomile, Elderberry, Noxious Elderberry
Uncommon
Fireleaf, Poison Fireleaf, Huckleberry, Muckleberry
Rare
Morel Mushroom, False Morel Mushroom
Seasons:
Common
Bell Pepper, Green Peas,
Uncommon
Begonia, Christmas Rose, Crocus, Dahlia, Holly, Snowdrop, Green Bean
Rare
Money Fruit
Jungle Adventure:
Uncommon
Avocado, Black Bean
Rare
Merry Berry, Gutsberry, Vimberry, Flutterberry, Cereberry, Museberry, Razzleberry
Cottage Living:
Common
Blueberry, Raspberry, Lovely Mushroom, Spicy Mushroom,
Uncommon
Chocoberry, Verdant Mushroom, Charming Mushroom
Rare
Mysterious Mushroom, Nightly Mushroom
Vampires:
Uncommon
Garlic, Plasma Fruit, Wolfsbane, Sixam Mosquito Trap
Island Living:
Common
Taro Root
Uncommon
Kava Root, Coconut, Pineapple
Get To Work:
Uncommon
Fang Flower
Rare
Glow Orb, Quill Fruit
Realm of Magic:
Rare
Mandrake, Valerian Root
StrangerVille:
Rare
Bizarre Fruit
Eco Lifestyle:
Common
Soy Plant
Sims 4 collections: Crystals, Fossils, MySims Trophies, and elements
To complete the crystals, fossils, and MySims trophy collections in the Sims 4, your Sim will need to find and dig up rocks around the world, in parks and neighborhoods. These four collections are the hardest to complete because they are all found in the same rocks and given at random. You are more likely to find rares in places that are further away from Sim’s homes, like Oasis Springs, Sylvan Glade, and Forgotten Grotto. Even though these take the longest time to complete, looking on the bright side, you will be working on completing five different collections at the same time, if you include the Elements.
Fossils
When your sim digs up a rock, they will have a random chance to get Limestone. Your sim will extract from the Limestone, giving them a random chance at getting a fossil. There is also a chance that the fossil will break when your sim tries to extract the Limestone, turning it into a Broken Fossil.
There are 15 total fossils to collect. Upon completion of the fossil collection, your sim will be awarded a plaque called “The Golden Trilobite”
Common: Prehistoric Rock, Pre-Historic Hoofprint, Enormous Trilobite, Hilariously Tiny T-Rex Arms, Fossilized Sim Hand, Fossilized Sea Monster, Fossilized Egg, Raptor Claw, Fossilized Plant Imprint
Uncommon: Prehistoric Bird, Fossilized Udder, Perfectly Preserved Mustache
Rare: Fossilized Whatzit, Pre-Pre-Pre Sim Head, Fossilized Alien Skull
MySims Trophies
There are 20 MySims trophies to collect. These are found in Capsules while digging rocks. You will also find random treasure maps. The treasure maps are the best way to collect rare MySims trophies. To use the treasure map, right-click on a rock and select “Dig for Treasure.”
Common: Buddy, Chaz McFreely, Chef Gino, DJ Candy, Elmira Clamp, Gonk, Hopper, Ol’ Gabby, Poppy, Yuki
Uncommon: Dr. F, Jenny, Leaf, Lyndsay, Morcubus, Trevor Verily
Rare: Goth Boy, TOBOR, Violet, Zombie Carl
Metals
There are 20 different metals to collect, two extra included in Get to Work. Your sim will only need to collect the 20 base game metals to complete the metal collection, receiving the plaque
“The Magnum Ingot” upon completion.
Base Game:
Common: Alcron, Baconite, Heavy Metal, Obtanium, Ozinold, Phozonite, Plathinum, Punium, Pyrite, Utranium
Uncommon: Crytunium, Death Metal, Flamingonium, Ironyum, Simtanium, Socialite
Rare: Literalite, Furium, Romantium, Sadnum
Get to Work:
Common: Blutonium, Solarium
Crystals
There are 20 different crystals to collect in the base game. Two crystals are included in Get to Work, and two extra in Jungle Adventure. Again, like other collections, your sim will only need to collect the 20 base game crystals to complete their collection. The plaque for completing the crystal collection is called “Consummate Gem Connoisseur”
Base Game:
Common: Alabaster, Citrine, Emerald, Orange Topaz, Peach, Quartz, Rose, Ruby, Sapphire, Turquoise
Uncommon: Amethyst, Diamond, Fire Opal, Hematite, Shinolite, Simanite
Rare: Jet, Jonquilyst, Plumbite, Rainborz
Get to Work:
Common: Crandestine, Nitelite
Jungle Adventure:
Uncommon: Amazonite
Rare: Alexandrite
Elements
Once you start collecting metals and crystals, and for $20 your sim can send them to the Geo Counsel from their inventory. There are 15 elements to collect, and one is included in Get to Work. Again, to complete the collection your sim will only need the 15 base game elements. The plaque for completing the element collection is called “It’s All Elementary!”
Base game:
Common: Alcineat, Goobleck, Melacoo, Oxypin, Ozinate, Phozone, Selium, Sydrolin
Uncommon: Peryllium, Plathium, Volenton, Wolfium
Rare: Crytacoo, Firaxium, Plumbobus
Get to Work:
Uncommon: Xenopetrium
Debug Collectables
Sugar skulls, magic beans, Easter eggs, and two plants: Forbidden Fruit and Growfruit were unfortunately only available through a limited-time challenge. If you still want to get these collectibles, you will have to buy them via the debug menu. To enable the debug menu, first enable the cheat console and then type “testingCheats true”, finally you will type in “bb.showHiddenObjects”. Now, if you go to the search menu, you can type in “debug” and you can buy the hidden collectibles for your sims! Make sure you add any debug items into your sim’s inventory to complete collections before you put them on display.
Collectibles Checklist
Use this handy Google Doc Collectibles Checklist to help you keep track of what your sim finds and what they need to be a collection completionist! Credit to ghostboyrises and Cream_Chicken on Reddit for creating such a useful tool.