Supermax Skills

[Sportsfan]

What are the easiest and hardest skills to supermax (i.e. To get to level 10 in skill and complete all challenges).  From my experience (very little) in skills (only 6; athletic, painting, writing, cooking, handiness, and logic) I've supermaxed painting and writing. Painting was a lot easier; I supermaxed it within days of aging up to young adult (and I wasted all the toddler years). Writing wasn't too hard it just took a lot of writing. For me it was (starting from young adult) almost to elder. I got to level 10 in logic and athletic but didn't complete a challenge for either. There were just too many challenges for logic and the athletic ones took too many hours. I have supermaxed consignment store and that was super easy, I just followed Carl's guide. I haven't got to level 10 or done any challenges for handiness and cooking yet, and I probably won't for a while because my only sims with those skills are on the brink of death. I would say collecting is the hardest just because of fact that in order to get all the challenges you have to find pretty much everything, which seems to me to be all luck. What do you think?

[Pam]

Welcome to our Forum, Sportsfan.

The Consignment Store and Collecting are not skills that can be SuperMaxed.  They aren't the same as the other skills that have 10 levels and skill journal challenges.

Most skills really aren't that difficult to SuperMax.  The one I always avoid is Photography.  I know I could never get all the collections completed for the skill journal.  Plus, Photography is badly bugged right now and is not working properly.  Cooking, fishing, and gardening aren't difficult because you just have to spend time on the skill until you manage to do as much as the skill journal challenges require.

[Sportsfan]

The only expansion pack I have is ambitions. I knew that consignment and collecting weren't actual skills but I just included them because they have challenges. With painting supermaxed and all challenges complete in consignment store I've been able to make a lot of money. Is guitar the hardest to supermax in vanilla sims because it has the one challenge that has bugs? (it's the one that needs guitar opportunities I think).

[Pam]

I don't consider the guitar challenges to be bugged.  It's just not worded right.  The challenge that has you playing at 10 different venues actually just wants you to complete 10 guitar skill opportunities (the ones that come over the phone).  They are sometimes difficult to do if your Sim has any other skills because the skill opportunity slot can easily be filled with a different skill opportunity.  However, the guitar skill challenges can be done if your strategy is right. 

I just didn't want you to get confused about what a SuperMax skill is because if you ever do a Dynasty challenge, knowledge of SuperMaxing will be critical.

[CarlosLordofTacos]

For Guitar Star, it's 10 opportunities that need to be completed, quite misleading, I know.

[Sportsfan]

I guess I was asking what skill takes the shortest/longest time to supermax?

[CarlosLordofTacos]

The longest is photography and I feel that the shortest is logic or athletic.

[Sportsfan]

From my experience, I was able to get all the challenges for painting without going out of my way to do it, but for logic and athletic I didn't complete a single challenge but I still maxed the skill. I did the boring route for logic though, just read books. Athletic I spent all my time on the treadmill trying to get one of the challenges, but I got to level 10 before I got it. I didn't do any weightlifting either.

[BellaClo]

I guess I was asking what skill takes the shortest/longest time to supermax?

For me, it mostly depends on how much your Sim is dedicated to its goal. The more you focus on a skill, the faster it is to reach level 10 and unlock the challenges. If the Sim spends a bit of time on a bit of everything, not only does it take altogether more time to reach the same point, but the wish management will be more complicated and less efficient.

Besides this, EP skills challenges are often a bit more time consuming than the base game ones. The only exception is guitar, and the other instruments with LN. Since one of the 3 challenges relies only on opportunities, you're pretty much dependent on the goodwill of the randomness of the game.

Then, the traits of the Sim can help too. At least to reach level 10 faster, but that's obvious  . But sometimes, traits can also help for the challenges. Angler tends to catch more fish than other Sims, Green Thumb gives a boost to the quality of the plants, Virtuoso receives bigger tips...

[CarlosLordofTacos]

Hmm, I guess painting is pretty quick.

[Sportsfan]

For me, it mostly depends on how much your Sim is dedicated to its goal. The more you focus on a skill, the faster it is to reach level 10 and unlock the challenges. If the Sim spends a bit of time on a bit of everything, not only does it take altogether more time to reach the same point, but the wish management will be more complicated and less efficient.

Yeah I guess when I was doing logic and athletic I was doing both at the same time and trying to advance in law enforcement as quickly as possible so I didnt spend much time worrying about challenges. 

[Sportsfan]

Is inventing hard to supermax and do the career? I want to know because I'm thinking of doing that down the line for my dynasty and will have to change my plans if it's too hard.

[BellaClo]

I find Inventing a harder one, yes. There are many challenges, long and tedious, so it takes a lot of time. And one of them is the Simbot, which rely on an opportunity, and so is a bit more hazardous.

I would certainly not pick it for the 2 first generations.

[kiko94]

About the Simbot opportunity, it's not hazardous. It comes 2 or 3 days after you max the skill and it is super easy to complete.

[Margerita]

Since inventing also raises handiness it might be an idea to keep handiness as a back up supermax skill for that sim if you can.