The Sims 4: All Hidden Skills (and How to Unlock Them)

While The Sims 4 boasts a robust set of visible skills like Cooking, Logic, and Painting, many players overlook the game's extensive list of hidden skills. Hidden skills are lesser-known traits that don't appear in the traditional skills panel but still influence gameplay in subtle, sometimes surprising ways.

Understanding and unlocking hidden skills in The Sims 4 is essential for players eager to master every aspect of their Sims' lives. This guide teaches players how to unlock hidden skills through activities, careers, and DLC.

What Are Hidden Skills in The Sims 4

Skills play a massive part in The Sims 4 gameplay. Major and minor skills influence Sims' hobbies, interests, and careers. Another type is hidden skills, which are separate skills that players can't trac k but will earn as they do certain activities. Hidden skills are mainly associated with items like the ping-pong table and ice skating rink, but there are also food and location-based ones.

Players can take their time to discover hidden skills through activities or learn any of them using cheats. PC and console players have access to the cheat console. Do the following to enable cheats in The Sims 4:

PC: CTRL + SHIFT + C
Mac: COMMAND + SHIFT + C
Xbox/PlayStation: Hold down all four triggers.

The cheat console will appear as a white empty box in the top left side of the screen. Type testingcheats true, and it will confirm that cheats are enabled. Players can only use cheats for hidden skills if they have the corresponding DLC. Then type stats.set_skill_level Hidden_[Skill] # into the console. For example, stats.set_skill_level Hidden_Skating 5 will max out the ice skating skill.

PC players who want to track their hidden skills can download mods such as MCCC or the Show/Search Sim Info mod.

Some hidden skills have a visible skill too. Rock Climbing is available as a secret skill in Fitness Stuff, but players can track it as a major skill in Snowy Escape, alongside Skiing and Snowboarding.

All Hidden Skills in The Sims 4

Sims can acquire hidden minor skills and level-one skills. Level one skills must only be done once for Sims to learn, and can't be cheated. These include:

Level One Hidden Skills

Skill Name	Required DLC	Item/Activity
Dartboard Darts	Base Game Get Together	Bullseye Dartboard Blind Trust Dartboard
Food Tolerance	Jungle Adventure	Eat food in Salvadoradan
Foosball	Get Together	Hot Shot Foosball Table
Juice Keg Tapping	Discovery University	SugarFizz Juice Keg (7 Unique Flavors)
Pet Poop Cleaning	Cats and Dogs	Clean up pet poop
Throwing Things	Seasons High School Years	Throw items (water balloons & footballs

Minor hidden skills go up to level five and can be cheated. These include:

Minor Hidden Skills

Skill Name	Required DLC	Item/Activity
Work Ethic	Get to Work	Retail Part-time Job
Sales	Get to Work	Retail Part-time Job
Maintenance	Get to Work	Retail Part-time Job
Rock Climbing	Fitness Stuff	Top Hitz Rock Climbing Wall
Skating	Seasons	Deluxe Roller Rink Deluxe Ice Rink Large Deluxe Roller Rink Large Deluxe Ice Rink Rustic Roller Rink Rustic Ice Rink Large Rustic Roller Rink Large Rustic Ice Rink
Spice Hound	City Living	Eat spicy food from San Myshuno food stands
Chopstick Savvy	City Living	Eat food using chopsticks
Juice Pong	Discover University	Legendary McFreely Wheely Ping Pong Table Ping! Pincers! Pong! Dragon Pong!