Wants and fears

Wants and fears (known internally as SWAFhttps://simswiki.info/wiki.php?title=SWAF) are aspects of a Sim's life in The Sims 2 and in patch 132 of The Sims 4 which replaced whims. Wants indicate something that a Sim wants. These wants can include having a child, wanting to get married, or just speaking with another Sim. A fear, however, is the downside to a Sim's life. Sims gain aspiration points when they fulfill wants and lose them when they experience fears.
Wishes in The Sims 3 and whims in The Sims 4 are similar to wants, but the fears returned to The Sims 4 without many alterations.
==The Sims 2==
===Wants and fears slots===
Initially, a Sim is born with four want slots and three fear slots, meaning that they will always have a maximum of four wants and three fears present. Sims can receive a fifth want slot as a bonus for completing freshman year at college, and a sixth if they graduated. If a Sim gets expelled, the Sim will receive a fourth fear slot. Sims can also get an extra want slot for 48 hours as a benefit from a good vacation.
===Fulfilling wants and fears===
When a want (or a fear) is fulfilled, the slot it occupies, and sometimes others, will be re-rolled, and a new one will take its place. Wants and fears are also re-rolled completely at the end of the day, usually early in the morning once the Sim wakes up. Wants will often be re-rolled when a Sim visits a community lot.
The wants and fears of children and teens may be re-rolled when they return from school. Those of college students may be re-rolled when they return from a class and will be re-rolled when they return from a final exam.
Wants and fears can also be fulfilled with the use of cheats. Ctrl-clicking on any want or fear while the testing cheats are active will cause that want or fear to be fulfilled. This can be used to resolve issues with wants not being fulfilled even after the necessary prerequisites for achieving them have been completed.
===Locking wants and fears===
Wants and fears can be locked by right-clicking them, and once locked will be exempted from re-rolls until they are fulfilled. A Sim can normally lock only one want or fear, but Sims who have completed their junior year in college receive an extra want/fear lock. Players can unlock a locked want or fear by right-clicking on them again.
===Aspiration and influence points===
Fulfilling wants will increase the aspiration bar by a set amount, and in many cases will also increase the influence bar. Fulfilling fears will, similarly, decrease the aspiration bar by a set amount, even to the point of aspiration failure, and in many cases will also decrease the influence bar. Wants and fears that affect the influence bar will have a blue border and will display the amount of influence points they provide or remove when realized. Wants and fears that have a strong effect will have a yellow sunburst in the background. Generally, the more difficult a want is to achieve, the more aspiration and influence points the Sim will receive for fulfilling it and the worse (more damaging) a fear is, the more aspiration points will be lost if it is fulfilled.
Sims also receive aspiration reward points as they fulfill their wants. These points can be used as currency to "buy" aspiration rewards. Aspiration reward points are lost when used to buy aspiration rewards, and when Sims have their fears fulfilled. The points do not fluctuate with the aspiration bar. Influence points can be used to "buy" influence options.
====Nonselectable Sims====
Sims will fulfill wants and fears whether or not they are selectable. For playable Sims, whether or not they are selectable when a want or fear is fulfilled does not matter. For townies and NPCs, things are somewhat different, as fulfilling wants and fears does not appear to affect their aspiration bars, though they do gain aspiration reward points when they fulfill wants, and may gain or lose influence points as they fulfill wants and fears.
===Lifetime wants===
The Sims 2: University also introduced the concept of lifetime wants. Prior to The Sims 2: FreeTime, fulfilling a lifetime want will give a Sim permanent Platinum mood for the remainder of his or her life. Beginning with FreeTime, fulfilling a lifetime want will give the Sim Platinum mood, but it will not be permanent, though it will decay very slowly.
===Examples of wants and fears===
Each Sim will roll up different wants and fears. The type of wants and fears that rolls up is determined by many factors. These factors are mostly based on Sims' aspiration, age, and personality. They can also vary under certain circumstances or situations, such as relationship, events, seasons, hobby enthusiasm, and many other things. Below is a list of some examples of the many kinds of wants and fears in the game.
*Toddlers will usually want to be taught toddler skills and interact with their parents. Children will want to do child-related activities, such as making friends, playing games, selling lemonade, and so on. Both may want to "Grow Up Well", meaning that their aspiration bar is in green, gold or platinum when they grow up. Both may fear their parents breaking up or a relative dying, though such fears are more common with toddlers.
*Teens tend to have school-related wants and fears like children, though Knowledge teens will roll them more frequently than others, and wants related to their aspirations. They will also tend to want their first kiss regardless of aspiration, although Family and Romance Sims want it more often. Family Sims will also want to go steady with someone. Fortune teens will want to get a part-time job, and most teens will want to go to college. Knowledge teens in particular will fear not going to college, and often go into aspiration failure on aging to adult if they don't. Teens may also want to go out or sneak out with their friends.
*Young adults, adults, and elders will roll wants and fears that are specific to their aspirations and secondary aspirations. Knowledge Sims want to gain many skills and be abducted by aliens. If they have children they will usually roll wants to teach them toddler skills and for them to get good grades in school. Romance Sims want to do romantic socials with many Sims and develop relationships with them, but fear lifelong commitments. Fortune Sims want to gain promotion and earn a lot of money, but often fear the Repo-man and burglary. Family Sims will want to get married and have multiple children and grandchildren. Pleasure Sims will want to go on dates and play around.
*Relationships can also trigger some wants and fears. Sims, particularly those with the Popularity aspiration, will want to befriend certain Sims, such as the ones they bring home from school or work. Once they're friends, they might eventually want to become best friends or BFFs with them. They sometimes fear of losing them as friends and becoming enemies with them. Sims who are in a romantic relationship, particularly those with the Family aspiration, will want to be engaged and married, while Romance Sims prefer to have as many lovers as they can. Sims will also fear the death of their friends and lovers.
*Personality can determine some wants and fears, but usually they are just minor ones. For example, neat Sims sometimes fear using a public toilet, and sloppy Sims may fear changing diapers.
*Some special or recent events can trigger several wants and fears. For example, Sims who are recently abducted by aliens will roll either wants or fears of being abducted again; and their relatives and friends will also roll abduction-related wants and fears. A recent fire or burglary will trigger the wants to purchase a fire or burglar alarm, if the household doesn't own one. When pets do certain behaviors, such as scratching or chewing the furniture, the Sims will sometimes want to either praise or scold them.
*Certain hobbies will trigger particular wants when Sims reach certain level of enthusiasm. For example, Sims whose hobby is music and dance want to do simple things, such as dancing, playing musical instruments, or buying a ballet barre. Nature hobby will produce wants such as collecting bugs, catching butterflies, gardening, hiking, and so on.
*Seasons can also affect Sims' wants. In spring, Sims mostly want to do romantic socials, as well as going on a date. In summer, Sims may want to have a water balloon fight. And in winter, Sims will want to do many snow-related activities when enough snow is accumulated on the ground, giving gifts, and interact with relatives.
*Young adults have certain wants and fears that are related to college life. College Sims, particularly Knowledge Sims, will have wants to go to classes, do group research, do an assignment or write a term paper, complete academic years, and graduate; and fears of being put on academic probation or expelled. Popularity Sims will often roll the want to join a Greek house and become "Big Sim on Campus".
*Life states also trigger some related wants and fears. For example, Sims will want or fear to become a witch when they meet a high witch and befriend them. The friends or relatives of Sims who are transformed into another life state will either want to cure them or fear that they will be cured, and may also want or fear becoming that life state themselves. These will be wants for Knowledge Sims, and fears for others.
*In some cases, Sims might roll the same want and fear at the same time, such as having a baby, getting engaged or married, or becoming a particular creature. This is often caused by a secondary aspiration, though Family Sims may want and fear having a baby even without FreeTime. This usually happens when the Sim has several young children already. Also, if a Romance Sim is on a date, they will sometimes end up having both a want and a fear of getting engaged.
====Notes====
*If the player chooses to turn non-Knowledge Sims into a life state, the cure-wants of the Sim or others can be rolled away by having them go on dates. Dating scenarios will cause Sims' wants and fears to re-roll, usually to display only social and romance-related wants. After the date is over, the Sims may effectively be distracted from creature-related wants and fears.
*The PlantSim want tree works differently from the other creature-related want trees. If a Sim a non-Knowledge Sim knows becomes a PlantSim, even if the daily and lifetime relationships are very close to zero, that Sim will still want the PlantSim to be cured. Even with mods, such as Pescado's wfsanity, non-Knowledge PlantSims will still sometimes roll fears of their significant others becoming PlantSims. Sims with Knowledge as a secondary aspiration will still fear becoming PlantSims without rolling corresponding wants to become one, even if they want to become vampires, werewolves or witches; they, however, will be less likely to roll wants for those Sims to be cured.
==The Sims Stories==
Fears are completely removed in The Sims Stories. This was done as Aspyr had linked fulfilling Fears with corruption.http://support.aspyr.com/index.php?x=&mod_id=2 The result is that wants are listed in a 2x2 grid that bear notable similarity to the wish grid in The Sims 3.
===Goals===
Goals are a special feature in The Sims Stories that only appears in story mode. Fulfilling goals can unlock story rewards and help the player progress to the next part of the story. Goals are usually worth about +250 aspiration points but can be worth more.
==The Sims 4==
Wants and fears made a return and replaced the whims system in patch 132 of The Sims 4, which came two days before the release of The Sims 4: High School Years.
===Wants===
Wants are things that a Sim is willing to do. The currently-controlled Sim will have three wants above their head, which change at set intervals and situations:
*Long-term wants that take some time to achieve, and rarely change.
*Short-term wants that can be done quickly, and change frequently.
*Reactionary wants, based on where the Sim is and their current motives.
The wants system relates more to the Sim themself and will focus on their traits more compared to whims. Just like whims, Sims are rewarded a certain amount of satisfaction points which can be redeemed for potions and bonus traits.
===Fears===
Unlike The Sims 2, Sims do not start with fears, but instead develop them over time, and these fears will come into play after a lived experience. These fears can be seen in the Simology panel, and they will be explained in more detail in a tool tip when the player scrolls onto it. Certain traits will influence and make it easier to earn certain fears.
If Sims see their fear come to reality and face it head on, they will receive strong, negative moodlets. Once a Sim has got a fear, they will sometimes have a jagged thought bubble right of their three wants, and they want to overcome their fear and conquer it. Sometimes, they may fail to do so, but if they can, they will receive a lot of satisfaction points to spend for new rewards.
==== List of fears ====
There are currently 13 fears that are included in the base game: https://simscommunity.info/2022/07/27/guide-to-wants-and-fears-in-the-sims-4/
Image	Fear 	Triggers 	Overcome by: 	Game Dialog/Description 	EP
 	Being Cheated On 	Bad WooHoo with partner, lack of interaction or if catches the sim doing romantic interactions or WooHooing with someone else (Jealous Sims are more likely to develop this fear out of nowhere).	Talk About Relationship Fears with your partner 	(Sim Name) needs to talk with their partner and soon. Otherwise, (Sim Name)'s relationship will continue to have problems unless they find a way to deal with it. 	
 	Being Judged 	Have Mean interactions done to your Sim. 	Figure Out Differences with two other Sims 	Those judgmental eyes feel like they are staring right at (Sim Name)! 	
 	Cowplants 	Be swallowed by a Cowplant. 	Milk a Cowplant while Confident 	One bite from a Cowplant and it could all be over! (Sim Name) would prefer to keep away from Cowplants for now. The potted plant in the corner looks like it's up to no good. 	
 	Crowded Places 	Being on a crowded lot. 	Be funny in a crowded place three times 	There are too many Sims around right now! (Sim Name) will be tense if around too many Sims on the same lot. 	
 	Dead-End Job 	Not gaining a promotion in a long time. 	Click your Sim and select Regain Passion before going to work 	(Sim Name) is questioning if there is a future with their career. (Sim Name)'s job performance will suffer and they will return from work sad. 	
 	Death 	Witness the death of a loved one or receive the call that a relative or friend has died, do life-challenging actions such as fixing electrical appliances. 	Discuss Fear of Death with elder Sims or ghosts, or give a Death Flower to the Grim Reaper 	(Sim Name) will avoid participating in risky behaviors and will be too afraid to interact with the Grim Reaper. 	
 	Failure 	Crafting poor quality objects or having poor work performance. 	Show off something that you've crafted, or Ask for a Performance Review while at work 	(Sim Name) will start to question whether or not they are capable and have difficulty creating quality objects and struggle at work. 	
 	Fire 	Experiencing a fire. 	Extinguishing a fire 	(Sim Name) will want to run away and hide from fire and has an increased chance of starting fires accidentally. 	
 	Ghosts 	Have a scary ghost encounter. 	Fight a ghost 	(Sim Name) won't want to remain near Ghosts for too long and might start believing Ghosts could be anywhere even when alone. 	
 	Swimming 	Have a scary experience while swimming. 	Swim for an hour while Confident 	(Sim Name) will be too scared of swimming in the water and run out immediately if they somehow end up in the water. 	
 	The Dark 	Have a scary encounter at night (abduction, run out at night during a fire, werewolf on rampage, etc.) 	Feel Confident outside at night 	(Sim Name) will be afraid during the nighttime and may struggle to stay asleep! Any little bump in the night will wake them up. 	
 	Unfulfilled Dreams 	Not completing any Wants for a long time. 	Fulfill a Want, then Discuss Fears with other Sims 	(Sim Name) feels unfulfilled and dissatisfied with how life is going. (Sim Name) will occasionally become upset with their life direction. 	
 	Disappointing Parents 	Dropping out of high school/university, having negative sentiments with parents and grandparents, having low Child Confidence. 	Click on one of your Sim's parents and then choose Set Expectations in the Friendly Category.
Click on the Urn or Gravestone of a deceased parent and select Absolve Fears. 	Oh no. What are they going to think? (Sim Name) will not be able to relax and will have difficulty living up to their parent's expectations. 	
 	Failing After-School Activities	Being an overachiever, low Child Confidence. 	Open the Career Panel to see what daily tasks await for your Sim's After-School Activity and complete it while in a Happy Mood. 	(Sim Name) will occasionally relive their moment of failure and all of the emotions that came with it! 	
 	Failing Classes 	Being an Overachiever, low Child Confidence, C or lower grades in school. 	Click on the Homework and select Do Extra Credit Work. This is only available after completing the "Ask for Extra Credit" social with a teacher and completing your Sim's homework for the day.	(Sim Name) is feeling the pressure of passing their classes. (Sim Name) will occasionally have trouble focusing in class due to the pressure. 	
 	Failing Tests 	Failing an exam in high school or passing an exam with a low grade. 	Use the Prepare for Exam function on the homework book while in a Focused mood 	(Sim Name) does not want to fail another test! <Sim name>'s test taking skills will be affected by their mood more than usual! 	
 	Homework 	Not doing any homework for a long time. 	Finish homework for two consecutive days while in a Focused mood 	(Sim Name) didn't realize until now that homework is not just a suggestion but a requirement to get good grades and learn! (Sim Name) will occasionally tense up when thinking about finishing their homework. 	
 	Being Inferior 	Low Child Confidence. 	Confront this fear by gaining more than 5 levels in a skill, having effort praised by a caregiver over two different days, or by improving school grades to a B or higher. 	(Sim Name) is afraid that they will never measure up and struggle with confidence. When losing confidence they will become tense. They will also become easily embarrassed when criticized or energized when their effort is praised.	
 	Horses 	Negative interactions with a horse, any interactions with a horse while in a negative mood, having the paranoid trait. 	Successfully interact with a Horse.
On another Sim, open the "Friendly" category, choose "Deep Thoughts," and then select "Discuss Fear of Horses." 	(Sim Name) isn't too fond of Horses after those encounters. There has to be a way to overcome this or they will be doomed to fear them forever. 	
 	Eviction 	Receiving a fine as a tenant. 	Interact with your Property Owner and choose to do Friendly or Romance interactions 3 times successfully. 	(Sim Name) is terrified that an Eviction is right around the corner. Every phone call, every knock on the door could be the Property Owner ready to kick them out of their home. 	
 	Being Alone 	Having a low relationship/low romantic satisfaction with a partner.
Lovebug, Unflirty, Cat Lover traits increase the chances of gaining the fear. 	Click on your Sim's Partner and select the Seek Validation interaction in the Romantic category.
Click on a Mirror and select Practice Affirmations.
Click on the cell phone and select Cupid's Corner to go to Couples Counseling.	(Sim Name) is experiencing intense anxiety and fear due to decreased romantic satisfaction in their relationship. If left alone, they will become tense and sad as their satisfaction decreases. 	
 	Intimacy 	Socially Awkward, Noncommittal, Unflirty, and Romantically Reserved traits increase the chances of gaining the fear as well as the Romance skill higher than level 4. 	Click on a Good Friend and select Discuss Comfort Levels under the Deep Thoughts category.
Click on a Good Friend and select Share Intimate Thoughts under the Deep Thoughts category. 	(Sim Name) struggles with physical and emotional connections. They find it difficult to trust people, be vulnerable, and create genuinely meaningful relationships. 	
==Trivia==
*The want that gives the most aspiration/influence points is Maximize All Skills (with 30,000+ aspiration and 10,000+ influence). The fear that takes away the most aspiration/influence points is a teen not going to college (with 10,000- aspiration and 5,000- influence). The fear that takes away the most in the base game is having an accident (neglecting the bladder need) at a party (with 8,000- aspiration and 5,000- influence).
*Some wants, like roasting a marshmallow over a fire jet or burning a bonfire, do not have pictures, but are blank. However, they can still be fulfilled.
*The sound that plays when fulfilling a want in The Sims 2 is sampled from the original The Sims theme song.
==References==
==See also==
* Aspiration
* Influence
* Lifetime Wants
es:Deseos y Miedos
ru:Желания и страхи
pt-br:Desejo
Category:Simology
Category:The Sims 2
Category:The Sims Stories
Category:The Sims 2 (console)
Category:The Sims 4
Category:The Sims 4 (console)