This comprehensive guide to the Sims 3 World Adventures' Martial Arts will instruct you on getting your Sims started learning Sim Fu. You'll learn a lot about this skill and how it benefits Sims in many ways. Tips will be provided to help your Sim learn the skill more effectively and how to better utilize it to kick butt, win Martial Arts Tournaments, and use Zeneport and Tranquil Transference.
Martial Arts in The Sims 3 is tied very heavily to the Athletic skill for fighting and fatigue, so Sims with the Athletic trait will benefit greatly. Depending on your Sim's level, they'll wear one of eight martial arts uniforms (from the ten skill levels a couple are shared). It follows the belt color ranking system used by Karate and Kung Fu.
Sim Fu is very useful for adventuring. High level Martial Arts allows them to teleport around Tombs with ease and even go toe to toe with mummies. I highly recommend China as an early adventurer's first stomping grounds so they can begin developing this highly useful skill.
How to Learn Sim Fu in The Sims 3 - Getting Started
First know, that while athletic also aids in Martial Arts development, the disciplined trait will benefit their skill gains the most. To learn the Martial Arts skill, take a trip to Shang Simla, China. There you'll find numerous options for learning the skill for the first time. I don't recommend the skill book, which can be bought from the book dealer at the Chinese Market.
The Phoenix Martial Arts Academy is the best place to start. At the academy in Shang Fu, China, your Sim can start with the training dummies. Gain just a few levels and you'll be able to break boards and blocks. It's not a bad idea to switch to this after the training dummies, because there is no challenge for training dummies and the time they've been used isn't even in the skill journal.
Read also: Individual Martial Arts Instruction
Sparring, available as an action against any Sim who knows the martial arts skill, is another option. If your Sim has learned the Charisma skill, they'll likely make a few friends out of sparring partners.
Training Your Sim's Martial Arts Back Home
You can purchase training dummies and blocks at the general store in the Market. Doing so will place the equipment in your Sim's family inventory, where you can then place it on your home lot. This opens up the ability to practice Sim Fu outside of China. Additionally, you can train Sims back home in Martial Arts once you're of sufficient level (requires training dummy). This is a great option for rich Sims who need something to do in between trips.
The Sims 3 World Adventures - Martial Arts Skill Building
Block Breaking - Sim Fu Skill Profit
Breaking blocks is a great way to work on Martial Arts and eventually make money. There are lots of happiness points to be gained this way. Stick with a lower level block to ensure your training session isn't interrupted by an injured hand. That is, until your Sim starts getting good at it. While working toward the Timber Terminator challenge, and subsequent wishes to break X amount of blocks, stick with the oak boards. Your Sim won't gain skill as quickly, but should be able to bust many more, upping their count.
With Timber Terminator, your Sim will likely see block breaking as a perfectly viable, if random way to make money.
Read also: The Jade Fortress Martial Arts System
Meditation - How to Meditate in The Sims 3
Meditation is available as a training option at level 5 in the Martial Arts skill. If you wonder how, just click your Sim and pick meditate. It won't raise athletics, but don't let that stop you. Meditation can satisfy the fun need, and removes a number of negative moodlets. Once your Sim has meditated long enough, they will receive a Meditative Focus that increases skill gains and work quality in all other skills for up to four hours.
Once they've maxed out, they'll start hovering in midair. Very cool stuff. Once your Sim has unlocked the meditation ability, they will be able to Zeneport once they've reached the hovering state of meditation. This will remove the Meditative Focus moodlet, but sends your Sim on a trip to any location that's visible to you. Use your imagination and this ability will serve you well. For example, you may get past some traps and even skip entire sections of a Tomb to reach the end without bothering with puzzles.
Don't Forget Athletics
Athletics and Martial arts go hand in hand. As your Sim trains martial arts, they'll gradually raise Athletics as well. However, meditating can cause athletics to fall behind. Spend some time on the tradmill or weight bench to help the skill keep pace. The Athletics challenge for doing 60 hours of strength training is highly recommended. It will remove the fatigue your Sim experiences when board breaking.
The Benefit of Sparring and Tournaments
The primary purpose for Sparring, beyond helping your Sim to make friends and raise the Martial Arts skill, is to be able to defend yourself. This will most often come into play when raiding tombs in Al Simhara. If your Sim has been in plenty of sparring matches, and possibly even become a Grand Master, they'll do well against the mummies there. They can fight them hand to hand and avoid the trickery and cowardice other Sims need employ.
While in Shang Simla, you can challenge other Sims using Call Sim from the cell phone. You'll fight a ranked tournament opponent. If you can clear twenty of them, your Sim will become a Grand Master. Do this while at the vacation home you've purchased or from the base camp. If you're having trouble winning, despite being high level in Martial Arts, turn to sparring to improve your odds.
Read also: Deep Dive into Court Martial Films
Grand Master
This Challenge is completed after winning 20 ranked matches against sparring opponents.
Master of Meditation - Instant Teleportation
After Meditating for 150 hours, Sims learn to use Tranquil Transference, the replacement for Zeneport. This is instant site to site teleportation that does not expend the Meditative Focus moodlet. It does deplete it by about a half hour each time it's used, but you should be able to get multiple teleports out of a single meditation session. What's more, you don't need to max out your Meditative Focus in order to use this. It cuts the time from 3 and 1/2 hours to teleport all the way down to 1 and 1/2. You'd only get one teleport out of it, but sometimes that's all you need. Its uses are endless, and are mighty helpful for collecting. Not only that, but for dungeons as well. No need to mess with the puzzle to safely reach the treasure chest, you can teleport there if you can see it. This is probably the single coolest perk of the Martial Arts skill. You may still revert to using Zeneport if you need.
I'm unsure what having a high number of hours spent meditating does for Sims.
Sim Fu King
After 75 sparring matches, win or lose, your Sim will complete this challenge. It seemingly helps them to do better at sparring and fights in the game.
Timber Terminator
This challenge turns Martial Arts into a viable money-making skill. After breaking 150 blocks or boards, your Sim will be able to get gems from breaking space rocks. This is flat awesome, as the gem qualities are really random and you can end up with plenty of pink diamonds. Work on breaking oak boards to complete it faster.
Breaking more and more boards, and the Athletics challenge to do 60 hours of strength training both aid your Sim's endurance. Not only can you get the regular gems from the Sims 3 and World Adventures by block breaking, you'll also likely find Ambitions' Palmstone. Unfortunately, Woohooim is harder to collect.
Moodlets related to Martial Arts skill:
- Your Sim seeks to learn something new to enrich and enlighten.
- There is no better way to advance one's Martial Arts training than to spar against a worthy opponent!
- Your Sim hopes to out-think and out-maneuver a competitor in a Ranked Sparring Match.
- Few things are more impressive than breaking boards with bare fists! Your Sim wants to display true Martial Arts prowess by breaking some boards.
- Breaking blocks of wood is quite impressive, but breaking blocks made of space rocks, well now that's something not every Sim can do!
- Learning is an exciting pursuit many Sims enjoy. Your Sim wants to improve a skill so they can do more things with the knowledge!
- Meditation is a mental discipline where the mind attempts to find a deeper state of relaxation.
- A deeper state of relaxation and awareness can be achieved through long periods of mediation.
- Practice makes perfect! The Training Dummy is a formidable, yet silent opponent. Your Sim wants to practice a few new moves with a Training Dummy.
- To prove others there is no equal, your Sim wants to win multiple ranked sparring matches in a row!
- Your Sim craves the sweet victory achieved only by winning a Martial Arts Tournament.
- Mastering a Skill takes great patience and dedication, but your Sim aspires to be the best.