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.

[Hosfac]

about the simbot opp it's not hazzardous, it comes 2 or 3 days after you max the skill and it is super easy to complete

That's really a matter of perspective.  It requires a level 7 gardener in the house who has found Life Fruit seeds, or easy access to a lot that has a lot of Life Fruit growing.  And if you're working on SuperMaxing Inventing during a normal life span, that sim will be inventing pretty much full time long after they've hit Level 10 and won't have a lot of time for gardening.  This is not to even mention that palladium is somewhat rare, and can be difficult to obtain.

But I'll agree with BellaClo that it's an arduous process to be sure.  However, if you stick to making the objects that are faster to build, it's quite doable.  Widgets are all pretty quick to make, and you can crank out close to 10 floor sanitizers in a day if you have someone in the house to help that sim meet their needs (talk to them when they're lonely and cook meals), and a full bathroom close to the inventing table.

However, the Inventing career is not one that's going to make you a lot of money if you're looking to SuperMax it.  The objects that are fast to build are the cheapest when sold.  But I suppose that it is possible to reach the top of the career anyways.  It'll just take a long time.

In my experience, Fishing is the fastest skill to SuperMax.  Inventing probably takes the most time.  I don't consider Photography in that at all, simply because it was nearly impossible to SuperMax in a normal lifetime, even before it was bugged.

[TheChronicR]

In my experience, Fishing is the fastest skill to SuperMax.  Inventing probably takes the most time.  I don't consider Photography in that at all, simply because it was nearly impossible to SuperMax in a normal lifetime, even before it was bugged.

I can't help but agree with you on this, Hosfac. Fishing is the natural, easiest supermax for an Immortal Dynasty founder. Gardening comes close second, but it still can't beat the "one challenge less" of the former.

I always avoid Inventing as a supermax. I like to do it as "other maxed skill" for my Logic/Handiness-oriented Immortal, as it simply suits the character.

If anyone wants, here is a plan for an official Dynasty.

# SuperMax skill/Career

1) Fishing/Science career
2) Painting/Painter career
3) Athletic/Professional Sports or Criminal (Thief)
4) Logic/Medical
5) Charisma/Politics*
6) Writing/Writer**
7) Handiness/Military
8 ) Nectar Making/Nectar Maker

* Even though that 100 joke challenge is a pain, Charisma is one of the easier skills to supermax.

** I know that watching a Sim type may make you go "zzz", but there are some nifty tips... though "zzz" will still be there.

[BellaClo]

about the simbot opp it's not hazzardous, it comes 2 or 3 days after you max the skill and it is super easy to complete

The opportunity should come a short time after level 10 is hit. Very different from will come 48 to 72 hrs after .
 
I don't like too much skill challenges relying on opportunities, aka the goodwill and the randomness of the game. Usually, it's not on my side, even when I really would want a specific opp' very much.

For the founder, I find Fishing better and faster than Gardening for this very reason, no ompniplant needed. For later generations, Gardening will be a bit longer but that much that it would make it harder.

[Sportsfan]

For my dynasty, I'm planning to have first generation either max fishing or gardening while doing the gardening career. Next would be cooking, followed by painting, and sculpting. Somewhere along the line will be athletic and the last will be charisma, Writing would probably be fifth. Im still not sure of what the other supermax skill will be. I have only ambitions, but I don't want to do inventing. What are the easiest to supermax besides the ones I've listed? Oh, and no way am I doing logic. There are just way to many challenges for me.

[Schipperke]

Handiness is an easy skill to supermax.  I had my Generation 8 do handiness, and he had maximized the skill and completed - I think it was 2 of the 3 skill challenges - before he turned YA.

[Sportsfan]

I was thinking of that one. Is military the only career track for handiness?

[Pam]

My Inventor was in generation 5, I believe.  She spent a lot of time in Egypt to complete the skill journal challenges.  By the time of her generation, the family had a palace in Egypt and she could spend at least a couple of weeks at a time.  I feel it was a key factor in my success.

[Schipperke]

My guy was a scientist.  He had to have high handiness and gardening, but it was ok because none of the earlier generations had gardening as their supermax skill.  My founder had supermaxed fishing, so I had to be careful and not let Gen 8 get too high in his fishing skill, but that was easy to do.  Just make sure he didn't decide to watch the fishing channel when I wasn't looking!

[folcon]

I found Charisma a fairly easy skill to supermax.  Particularly if you get the Observant reward early on.  The relationship boost from that challenge alone helps immensely.

[TheChronicR]

I found Charisma a fairly easy skill to supermax.  Particularly if you get the Observant reward early on.  The relationship boost from that challenge alone helps immensely.

Except the 100 joke challenge. That is a real pain.