There are six skills in The Sims Online which can enhance how you interact with others and increase your bank account. As you raise your skill levels, you will earn new emotes and interactions, promotions on the career tracks, and you can earn money crafting or using solo and group job objects. Some skills also have special abilities once you earn them, such as becoming a Shaman or reducing your chances of death by electrocution. Details on each skill can be found in the table at the end of this document. Skilling is a relatively easy task - simply approach the desired skill object and click on it to select the action. A skill bar and box will appear above your head to show your progress.

Skill Speed:

The rate at which you learn a new skill is determined by a combination of factors which include the property category, the number of people skilling together, and the total number of skill objects on the lot. A skill speed of 118% can only be obtained on a property in the Skills category. This speed also requires that at least six Sims skill simultaneously and there are at least six of the same skill object. In non-Skill properties, the skill speed is reduced to a maximum of 71% and will stop increasing once there are at least four Sims skilling together. The time it takes to earn a skill point slows as your skill increases. It takes only about eight minutes to go from 0 to 1 point in a skill, but going from 8 points to 9 takes approximately one hour. A pop-up appears on your screen each time you earn another skill point; if you have earned a new interaction, you will receive notice of that as well.

Skill Decay:

Skill decay is a fact of Sim life. Sims are exempt from decay until they reach 10.01 overall skill points. Once you pass this number, the rate at which skills decay varies according to the total number of skill points you currently have as well as your Sim's overall mood. A Sim with 50 total skill points will endure faster skill decay than a Sim with only 20 total skill points. Low skills decay quicker than higher skills, so while your Logic skill may have only decayed from 10.99 to 10.74, the three points you had in Creativity have degraded down to zero. This is why it is better to choose one skill and focus on maximizing it before beginning another skill.

Skill Locks:

Skill locks were created to balance out the effects of skill decay. Once a skill has been locked, it is immune to decay until the lock is removed. A new Sim is given 10 skill locks upon creation and another 10 after the first maintenance period after creation (sufficient to lock one maximized skill). A new skill lock is earned every 21 days as long as the Sim has not been retired. Please refer to this document for a chart showing the days when skill points are earned. Skills can be locked by clicking the slider bar on the furthest point to the right. Locking only a portion of a skill can be done by clicking the slider bar on the area that corresponds with the number you wish to lock. Unlocked skill points will appear as blue sections of the slider and locked points are shaded red.

Skill Details:

* Advanced Emotes and Advanced Crafted Objects require between 12 and 20 skill points in TWO skills.

Special Skill Abilities:

Several skills have special abilities associated with them. High cooking skill contributes to producing food with a higher hunger satisfaction. Once you achieve at least 8 skill points in both Cooking and Charisma, you automatically become a Shaman and can revive the dead. High mechanical skill increases the speed of repairing objects as well as reducing the likelihood that you will get electrocuted while making repairs. High body skill increases your chances of winning an "Attack" from an enemy.