With The Sims 4: For Rent expansion, the gameplay is enriched with a range of new features, placing a significant focus on property management, allowing Sims to take on the roles of landlords or tenants. This expansion introduces various interactions, including maintenance tasks within rental properties and more. Alongside these features, two new lot challenges have been incorporated: Maintenance Troubles, similar to the Needs TLC challenge from the City Living expansion, and Mold.
While real-life experiences with maintenance or mold issues in the house may not be desirable, incorporating these challenges into the Sims' virtual lives can add an extra layer of complexity and immersion to the gameplay. The mold mechanic, in particular, introduces unique elements, requiring players to pay attention to specific aspects to effectively address and manage it.
In contrast to certain house-related mechanics, such as dust accumulation that can occur over time (if enabled in the general gameplay settings), the appearance of mold in The Sims 4: For Rent is not a random occurrence. To introduce mold as a challenge in a specific unit or residential lot, players must actively set it as a lot challenge. This process is straightforward and follows the same steps as enabling other lot challenges. In Build/Buy mode, players can access the trophy icon at the top left corner and click on it to enable as many lot challenges as they desire. If the lot does not have mold set as a challenge, there simply won't be any mold appearance or accumulation in that particular lot.
Moreover, mold accumulation is influenced not only by the lot challenge setting but also by other factors such as poor plumbing maintenance, especially if plumbing objects are broken, the presence of puddles, and the accumulation of trash in the lot. With that, while mold accumulation will happen over time as long as the lot challenge is active, it may simply appear quicker or less often based on this factor. To prevent mold from appearing too often, players should prioritize maintaining plumbing objects in good condition, promptly addressing any maintenance issues (either by contacting the landlord or fixing them directly), and ensuring overall cleanliness on the lot. This can help mold lot challenge to become much easier to manage.
It's important to note that mold in The Sims 4: For Rent comes in two distinct types: Allergenic Mold Pile, which has a greenish appearance with a more scattered pattern, and Toxic Mold Pile, distinguished by a more condensed pattern and a black color. The Allergenic Mold Pile primarily affects nearby Sims by giving them negative moodlets and allergies. On the other hand, the Toxic Mold Pile poses a more serious threat, as Sims in close proximity can die from exposure to this type of mold. Mold can also spread within the lot and progress through different stages, making it crucial to address the issue promptly, ideally when it first appears. Once a Toxic Mold Oile appears, players will get an orange notification regarding its appearance, so they will not miss out on this.
Fortunately, removing mold is a straightforward process, and Sims can choose from three different methods to get rid of it. Players should prioritize the removal of Toxic Mold piles over Allergenic ones, especially when dealing with a significant amount of mold. Mold piles are typically visible on the floor instead of walls, making them easy to identify.
Death by Mold is the latest addition to the extensive list of deaths in The Sims 4. To experience or avoid this death, players need to pay attention to Toxic Mold Piles, as Allergenic Mold Piles do not lead to this outcome. Sims must remain in close proximity to a Toxic Mold Pile for an extended period to succumb to death by mold. However, players can prevent this by either leaving the lot or cleaning the toxic mold pile.
In the unfortunate event that a sim dies from mold, they unlock unique interactions as a ghost, similar to some other death types. These ghost sims can use the spread mold interaction on a lot, but they lack any unique interactions with living Sims.
The Sims 4 is the latest offering from Maxis and The Sims Studio, serving as a sequel to The Sims 3. Although it was released back in 2014, the game is still going strong today thanks to an array of DLC add-on packs that give players access to more unlockable items and events.