Great Explorer Tips

[Delta33]

While going alone might save time juggling between sims, I have found it helpful to bring along a friend in some situations because you can transfer items between their inventories. So if you forgot to stock up on certain items and desperately need more shower in a cans, instead of running all the way back to the market, you can keep exploring while your buddy does a shopping run, then drag the item onto your explorer's icon. Have your second sim mostly stay at base camp and let it take care of itself or study up on skills.

Also I have found having the photography skill at a high level can be very helpful. Photos of major landmarks can earn you thousands of dollars a day to help with funding. Also the reward for one of the skill challenges "improves relationships with sims you already know". This is EXTREMELY useful for all the quests chains that require you to talk to someone about something. If you greet them, then take a picture you are instant friends and don't have to waste days improving your relationship just so you can complete a quest. I believe children can learn the photography skill, so you can work on this skill during childhood when  you can't improve a lot of the other skills you will need.

[jmz95]

I think Steel Bladder would be a much better option. 

Wow, in my opinion, Steel Bladder is invaluable! If you are a single sim, you instantly don't need a toilet again. And at 10,000 points, you can get it as a child if you start from the baby stage.

P.S. Whenever I have a child in any of my legacies, I have a stereo in the child's room, and I'm constantly playing his/her favorite music, and the room usually has an excellent buff and combine that with squeaky clean, and you are gaining life points for laying there, breathing.

[Pam]

What is an excellent buff?  And playing the music doesn't keep your Sim awake?

[jmz95]

What is an excellent buff?  And playing the music doesn't keep your Sim awake?

By excellent buff, I meant the + 40 Beautifully Decorated moodlet, and I always turn off the stereo before the sims go to bed. Now that I think about it though, don't sims automatically turn off the stereo when going to bed, or was that the result of one of the mods that I used a while back?

[AriaGirl77]

I'd like to revise my previous suggestion for traits: instead of lucky you might wanna do charismatic.  Since so many of the adventures involve building relationships with locals.

[AriaGirl77]

Big tombs almost always have a bathroom somewhere, and often will have beds.  Don't forget you can also sleep in a sarcophagus.  Good to remember since there is often no room for your tent.

[Justine]

OH! That one's quite important.


Since you'll definitely meet mummies while exploring: if you've mastered Martial Arts it's pretty obvious you can take them on in tombs. The basic rule is, even if you're a level 10, when your needs' bars/mood are low you can always miss a few hits and loose - it happened to me, and I was really scared for a second of being cursed. Always fight mummies in in high spirits. Since mummies are so slow, you can easily sleep in a tent undisturbed, even in the same room, shower-in-can yourself and eat something before you face the enemy. If your Sim is extremely lonely escape to the next room, call some local guy/girl and chat.

[TheCub]

I try not to visit the China base camp, ever.  Takes way too long to walk up and down all those stupid stairs.  The only time I visit there is when I have to pee or shower.  But that doesn't happen too often since I get the bladder control and dirt defiant LTR.  

I just noticed yesterday that there's a shower at the martial arts academy. It's the good quality shower, not like the cheap ones at base camp.

[samoht04]

I suppose you could go into edit-mode and go into china then add a bed to the academy. 

[bshag]

Those are all good suggestions.  The one thing I have found that is invaluable is the mood manager.  When sim gets the sleepy sign just whip out the mood manager and "cure" fills the energy bar right up so sims don't even need a tent.  It leaves much more time to explore.  

I'm pretty sure the MA skill has to do with being in tournaments and getting to be Grand Master.  The athletic skill is what you need to whip mummy butt.  I have found that after all the preparation to meet mummies, there isn't all that many to fight.  Besides they are very slow moving and any sim can escape easily.  

[AriaGirl77]

I suppose you could go into edit-mode and go into china then add a bed to the academy. 

Yup, I actually do stay at the academy when I can.  I just put up a tent on that big meditation deck.  But you gotta make sure that you feed your sim when they get hungry otherwise they'll try to go back to the base camp.

[AriaGirl77]

Those are all good suggestions.  The one thing I have found that is invaluable is the mood manager.  When sim gets the sleepy sign just whip out the mood manager and "cure" fills the energy bar right up so sims don't even need a tent.  It leaves much more time to explore.  

I'm pretty sure the MA skill has to do with being in tournaments and getting to be Grand Master.  The athletic skill is what you need to whip mummy butt.  I have found that after all the preparation to meet mummies, there isn't all that many to fight.  Besides they are very slow moving and any sim can escape easily.  

I agree, having the discipline trait is totally unnecessary for an explorer.  I've also read in other places that even if you have ZERO athletic and/or MA skill there's still only a 2% chance that you will be cursed due to a mummy encounter.  If you have any athletic or MA skill it will probably never happen.  There's one quest in Egypt where you're supposed to get scorched, then drenched, then cursed... I tried to do it with my Explorer sim who had maxed athletic and MA skill and I simply couldn't get it done.  Plus getting uncursed is so simple that it really shouldn't be a major concern.  I've never heard anyone talk about how they got cursed and their sim died because they couldn't cure themselves.

[Pam]

Carl had a Sim die from being cursed, but he probably let it happen on purpose for research. 

[jmz95]

Those are all good suggestions.  The one thing I have found that is invaluable is the mood manager.  When sim gets the sleepy sign just whip out the mood manager and "cure" fills the energy bar right up so sims don't even need a tent.  It leaves much more time to explore.  

I'm pretty sure the MA skill has to do with being in tournaments and getting to be Grand Master.  The athletic skill is what you need to whip mummy butt.  I have found that after all the preparation to meet mummies, there isn't all that many to fight.  Besides they are very slow moving and any sim can escape easily.  

You know, the moodlet manager is fantastic, but I really hate it. I like the fact that the challenges here on the forum ban the use of it, because it truly is cheap, the fact that you never have to do anything, just "cure" yourself when you get a need bar low.