rpggal33 Welcome to The Sims community! As you play, notice what you enjoy. Is it building? Is it multi-generational storytelling? Is it challenges? Knowing what you like and don't like can help you decide what you want more of, and what will compliment your personal gameplay style when you consider adding packs. I've provided some comments below, in two categories. First, I want to suggest whatever you do, wait for a sale. There is a sale on now, and every few months. At least twice a year the older packs are up to 60% off. They don't announce sales in advance, but they are very regular. Trust. (The only exception is Kits never go on sale.)
The Expansion Packs are the biggest and will come with the most features.
- Seasons is probably the most common recommendation for a first pack, because it completely changes the game by giving you weather! This means it snows in Willow Creek in the winter, and you have holidays, and plants become seasonal. You also get bees (to make honey) and a Flower Arranging skill. Seasons does not come with a World. It only adds to gameplay.
- If you like Fishing and Handiness or self-sufficiency challenges like Rags To Riches (starting with $0 on an empty lot), you might enjoy packs with a lot of nature in them, like Horse Ranch (also comes with mini sheep for wool and mini goats for milk) or Cottage Living (also comes with llamas for wool and cows for milk). I'd choose Cottage Living first; I like its Simple Living Lot Trait, which requires you have the ingredients for a recipe in order to make it, and prefer the green world of Henford-On-Bagley to the brown (dirt/desert, like Oasis Springs) world of Chestnut Ridge.
- If you like family gameplay, you might enjoy a pack like Growing Together, which adds Milestones and more actions, activites, and items for toddlers and children and quirks for infants. Self Discovery makes it possible for your sims to gain up to three (3) extra Traits through gameplay. I also like the world of San Sequoia if you want more of a city.
- If you want more flexibility, Businesses And Hobbies lets you put any one (1) business on any lot, or the combination of business and residence, and For Rent lets you put up to six (6) apartments on any lot. I like both worlds. Businesses And Hobbies was built by the EU dev team, which deliver really high quality render. For Rent has a lot of known issues that cause it to be really buggy, but when they're fixed it will be life-changing for my gameplay.
Stuff Packs are more affordable but don't come with a World, and typically have fewer features and items. I'd recommend any of these:
- Home Chef Hustle is great if you already enjoy Cooking skill. It adds small appliances, recipes, and a way to make simoleons (a selling table), plus a complete kitchen and some items in Create A Sim (CAS). Like Businesses And Hobbies, this was built by the EU dev team.
- Crystal Creations is great if you already enjoy collectables, and works really well with the base game (where the most collectables are). It provides a new skill and a way to make simoleons, plus items in Build/Buy and CAS. And there are a lot of perks if you're charging your crystals (wake up Inspired, negative moodlets fade faster, improved work or school performance, no fires when cooking, etc.)
- Paranormal is great if you want to add occult gameplay (ghosts), and very easy to turn on and off with the Haunted House Residential Lot Type. It provides a new skill and a new freelancer career and has a lot of Build/Buy items. (I use the Build/Buy more than the career.)
- Tiny Living is great if you're already building small homes, or enjoy skill-building. It comes with a Tiny Home Residential Lot Type which gives you a variety of perks (faster skill-building, reduced bills, improved relationships, etc.) depending on the size of your home (up to 100 tiles). This was the first pack I ever bought!
