The Sims 4: Outdoor Retreat - How To Build Herbalism Skill And What It's Used For

Added in one of the earliest game packs released for The Sims 4, the Herbalism skill in the Outdoor Retreat pack is a cool way for your Sims to interact with the new natural world around them. Search Granite Falls for ten unique herbs, build your skill, and learn to make potions.

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The herbal recipes your Sim crafts into potions have a variety of benefits: they can change a Sim’s mood automatically, cause a little chaos just for fun, or even boost the chances of having a multiple birth in a pregnancy. Pretty powerful stuff, from just a few herbs!

Herbalism Skill Overview

Added in the Outdoor Retreat pack for The Sims 4, the Herbalism skill is a ten-level skill that puts your Sims out in the elements around Granite Falls, the new world included in the pack, in search of wild herbs.

Keep your camera low to the ground in search of the herbs that grow in Granite Falls.

In all, you'll have two primary interactions with the new herbal plants growing in Granite Falls:

• Identifying Plants you come across out in nature is a great way to build the Herbalism skill early on to get your Sim some experience that can save them from knowing the difference in herbs.
  • It might take your Sim a few tries to actually identify the plant, especially at lower skill levels, but continue to try the identification until you're successful to keep building your Herbalism skill reliably.
• Eating Plants doesn't seem to give any bonus experience, but doing so can help your Sim identify standard versus poisonous varieties of herbs.
  • Each of the herbs available in Outdoor Retreat have both varieties that spawn naturally throughout the overworld.

Unless you really need the moodlet an herb will give when eating it or you need to identify the plant, save herbs for herbal recipes.

Craft Potions And Elixirs With Your Herbalism Skills

Not only can your Herbalist Sims identify and consume plants to continue building their Herbalism skill, you'll quickly learn to make herbalism recipes on any stove or grill that awcan offer powerful moodlets and perks.

They'll need more than just herbs to make the recipes, but being able to identify and collect the correct herbs for the recipes they want to make can save them tons of time while they're out gathering.

These offer powerful perks when consumed and can also be used in powerful herbal recipes that influence anything from whether your Sim gets a bug bite while camping to how many babies they have should they become pregnant.

Not only are herbal recipes stronger than just consuming raw herbs, but they can also sell for a pretty Simoleon if you'd like to turn your skill into a side hustle.

Pair Herbalism With The Gardening Skill For Easier Skill-Building

After your Sim can successfully identify herbs out in nature, any Sim that's at least Level Five in the Gardening skill will be able to take a clipping of the herb home with them from their trip to Granite Falls.

Doing this allows them to plant herbs at home in their own gardens, and these Sims can enjoy an abundance of homegrown herbs to use in their potions and perks.

This is especially helpful when stumbling upon rarer herbs you don't often see - taking a clipping home and growing it on your home lot allows for a much more plentiful supply.

Not only will the Gardening skill help your Sim collect more herbs, but you'll need produce items for herbal recipes just as often as you'll need herbs themselves.

Keeping a prosperous garden can help your Sim grow their own herbal recipe ingredients, saving money later on when it's time to get brewing.

Helpful Traits And Aspirations

Since the Herbalism skill is exclusive to the Outdoor Retreat pack, it shouldn't be surprising that you'll need to spend plenty of time outside. And if that's the case, the Loves Outdoors trait can offer some helpful boosts.

Sims with the Loves Outdoors trait gain Happy moodlets when spending time outside, so if you'll be doing a lot of it, you may as well truly enjoy the experience.

While it's a fun touch for other gameplay elements in The Sims 4, you'd do well to avoid the Squeamish trait. It conflicts with the Loves Outdoors trait, but should still be avoided even if you're not using Loves Outdoors.

Also added in Outdoor Retreat, this trait makes Sims experience several negative moodlets from several things - bugs and various other outdoor elements included - so this trait adds an extra element of difficulty to building the Herbalism skill.

Finally, if you're pairing the Herbalism skill with the Gardening skill, consider the Super Green Thumb reward trait with your Satisfaction Points in the Reward Store.

Buying this reward trait will help all your garden plants to prosper, leading to a healthy helping of herbs.

When it comes to aspirations, consider the Outdoor Enthusiast aspiration that also came with the Outdoor Retreat pack.

Building the Herbalism skill is but one of the focus points of the aspiration, which overall seeks to help you experience all the new content in the pack like herbs, bugs, fish, and more.

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All Herbs In Granite Falls And What They Do

In all, there are ten total berries and herbs available in The Sims 4: Outdoor Retreat that your Sim will need to find, identify, and collect before they can use them in herbal recipes.

This includes five regular herbs, as well as five poisonous versions of these same herbs that will be used just as frequently in your herbal recipes.

Consuming herbs raw will offer your Sim a variety of moodlets depending on the type and quality of the herb they're consuming, which is an easy way to help them switch between emotional states with ease.

These plants appear in the overworld as "Wild Plant" until your Sim has properly identified the herb.

Every Herb In The Sims 4: Outdoor Retreat

Herb Name

Rarity

Moodlet Given When Consumed Raw

Chamomile

Common

Happy

Toxic Chamomile

Tense

Elderberry

Happy

Noxious Elderberry

Sad

Fireleaf

Uncommon

Happy

Poison Fireleaf

Angry

Huckleberry

Happy

Muckleberry

Dazed

Morel Mushroom

Rare

Happy

False Morel Mushroom

Uncomfortable

If you're struggling to find the mushrooms, visit the Hermit regularly, as herbs of all kinds - Morels included - grow pretty fruitfully in their garden planters and around the hidden area.

Additionally, it's worth noting that the Hermit is a randomized Sim in each save, meaning no two Hermit of Granite Falls look alike.

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Every Herbal Recipe Your Sims Can Make

Since herbal recipes are the only reward for building your Herbalism skill in The Sims 4: Outdoor Retreat, below, you'll find the name of each recipe, how to make it, what it does, and at which level of the Herbalism skill you'll unlock it.

Herbal Recipes And When You Learn Them In The Herbalism Skill

Level

Recipe

Ingredients

Effects

1

Insect Repellent Liniment

2 Noxious Elderberries

2 Basil

The Sim that uses it will not be bitten by bugs while outdoors.

Sadness Alleviation Lotion

2 Elderberries

1 Firefly

Cancels any Sad moodlets immediately upon use.

Fungal Infusion Fertilizer Recipe *

3 Morel Mushrooms

3 False Morels

1 Blackberry

1 Firefly

Extremely powerful fertilizer recipe for use in your home garden to help grow and evolve your plants.

2

Deodorizing Cream

1 Elderberry

1 Strawberry

2 Parsley

Increases a Sim's Hygiene need immediately upon use.

3

Soothing Skin Cream

2 Chamomile

2 Basil

1 Locust

Reduces the duration of the negative moodlets from insect bites, removing them entirely if there's little enough time left when used.

4

De-Stressing Lotion

2 Chamomile

2 Muckleberries

1 Walking Stick

Cancels any Tense moodlets immediately upon use.

5

Tummy Therapy

2 Huckleberries

2 Sage

1 Termite

Cancels any moodlets related to nausea, regardless of the reason (pregnancy, spoiled food, the Squeamish trait, etc.).

6

Clear Mind Distillation

2 Toxic Chamomile

2 Huckleberries

2 Parsley

Gives a Focused moodlet upon use.

Fireleaf Extract

2 Poison Fireleaf

2 Morel Mushrooms

1 Fire Ant

Gives any Sim that uses it an upset stomach and longstanding itch that makes them Extremely Uncomfortable for several hours.

7

Natural Herbicide Oil

2 Toxic Chamomile

3 Fireleafs

1 Stink Bug

Removes weeds and prevents them from growing when used on home garden plants when they're in need of weeding.

8

Energizer Infusion

3 Muckleberries

2 Poison Fireleafs

1 Dragonfly

Gives an Energized moodlet upon use.

9

Rage Relieving Salve

3 Noxious Elderberries

2 Fireleafs

1 Tomato

1 Rainbow Firefly

Cancels any Angry moodlets immediately upon use.

10

Elixir of Fertility

4 False Morels

2 Sage

1 Bee

1 Will-o-the-Wisp

Increases a Sim's likelihood of conceiving twins and triplets when Trying for Baby after use.

* The Fungal Infusion Fertilizer Recipe can only be learned after becoming friends with the Hermit of Granite Falls and asking about the recipe.

It will not be learned automatically at Herbalism skill level one, but it can be learned as early as level one in the skill if you've already befriended the Hermit beforehand.

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