Canada
United States
- The Sims 3, The Sims 4, and The Sims 5?!
- Setting Up Mods In Sims 3
- Best The Sims 3 Mods Of All Time
- Where To Get The Best Sims 3 Mods?
Even though EA released multiple spin-offs and a sequel, fans can’t seem to move on from The Sims 3. This is the best out of all the mainstream Sims titles.
And in a bid to lay the groundwork for The Sims 5, EA has announced that The Sims 4 will be free-to-play from October 2022.
The whole idea is to get the players to switch from The Sims 3 to The Sims 4 and then The Sims 5.
But players and the modding community have other ideas.
11 years since its initial release, The Sims 3 still feels as fresh as ever, thanks to countless The Sims 3 mods, and a cult fanbase of devs. You can get mods to tune up gameplay mechanics or bring in plenty of new content as well.
So, we decided to collect and list the best The Sims 3 mods so far.
But first, a little guide.
How To Download The Sims 3 Mods?
Downloading mods for Sims 3 is pretty straightforward. You can use nexusmods or modthesims to download any mod you like. And it’s a straightforward one-click download, so there’s not much to do.
But before you download, you have to create a Sims 3 mod folder on your PC. And here’s how to do that.
- Download FrameworkSetup.zip.
- Extract the file in Documents > Electronic Arts > Sims 3.
Once the extraction is complete, you’ll see a Mods folder. This is where you’ll be installing The Sims 3 mods.
If you’re thinking about how to install Sims 3 mods, every mod has its own setup and all of them will ask you to create a Mods folder. As long as you know that, installing Sims 3 mods is a piece of cake.
And now, the list!
20 Best Sims 3 Mods With Download Links
1. No-Intro Mod
We’re starting with a mod that doesn’t add anything to the game. Instead, it removes something annoying and unnecessarily long.
As you might have guessed by its name, installing this mod will disable all intro videos for all regions. So, instead of having to sit through long and boring videos on regions, you go straight to your Sim and get stuff done.
The mod has nearly 360k downloads, so it must be doing something right.
2. Ultimate Careers
You also hate the Sims rabbit holes, right?
Sims 3 did bring the option of working on a lot, but that meant you had to perform the tasks manually; all-in-all a bit annoying.
Ultimate Careers will change that.
With this mod, you can assign the school/career of any rabbit hole to a specific community lot. So, when it’s time to work, all the Sims will go to that lot, get the work done, and get back home. There are new additions like Custom Careers or your Sims slacking off during work.
All metrics like Relationships, Mood, and Skills still apply.
3. More Traits for All Ages
The name says it all really.
This mod brings in plenty more traits for every age group of The Sims 3. Even if a Sim ages up automatically, you’ll get a trait. Furthermore, NPCs and Townies will also get the max traits possible. All this trait trading makes the gaming experience less bland, especially the Townies.
A little word of advice, once the Sims get all these traits it’s difficult to remove them. Simply deleting the mod won’t do the trick. You’ll have to remove the traits manually, which is not pleasant.
So, if you do install this mod, maybe try it out first with a new file.
Furthermore, this mod edits TraitManager_0x85009be60155d3c6, so if you already have another mod that does the same, well, just be careful about it.
4. Like For Like Build And Buy Mode
The Sims 3 isn’t a perfect game, everyone knows that. And players can look over bugs and glitches. However, what’s difficult to ignore is EA’s laziness, which is put on a show in the Build and Buy Mode.
A humongous catalog has products scattered all over, with no price or category classification. This mod does exactly that.
By removing the “by function” filter, the Like For Like Build And Buy Mod groups everything in the correct category and places similar objects close to one another. And you also get access to 99% of debug objects of Sims 3.
Build and Buy is still chaotic, but with this mod, it’s a bit more organized.
There’s also a historical version that removes any electronic objects.
5. Tagger
Players who like to keep tabs on everything and everyone will absolutely love the Tagger mod. It makes the in-game tag feature look extremely basic.
With the Tagger mod in place, you can create tabs manually and automatically and color-code them.
Basically, you get a custom tag option for everything.
And what’s more impressive is that this mod integrates seamlessly with any other mod you might already have.
If you decide to move away from the base maps and mod in some custom maps, the Tagger mod will work just as smoothly on the new maps as well.
The only problem we have is overkill. You might end up creating too many and then have a hard time navigating because these tags are big.
6. The Sims 3 GPU Add-on Support
The Sims 3 was released in 2009. Since then, the GPU scenery has changed drastically. So, Sims 3 does not engage the newer GPUs automatically. And to get them going manually is a pain.
But you can automate the whole process with the GPU Add-on Support mod.
This basically means that if your latest GPU wasn’t being used to power Sims 3, it will now once you install this mod. And you’ll see a significant improvement in the gameplay and graphics.
7. Retuned Attraction System
The base attraction system of Sims 3 is far from perfect. It’s pretty common for complete opposite Sims to attract. And not to mention the rejected Sims coming back again and again and again.
Despite some quirks, the base system is all we have. And replacing it completely is near impossible. But, there’s always room for some fine-tuning, and that’s exactly what this mod does.
Once you have the Retuned Attraction System in place, other Sims will stop calling you after just 1 date call refusal. Skills, wealth, and celebrity levels no longer affect attraction. And there’s a lower chance of per-day gifts and love letters.
There are 8 different flavors of this mod, which we’ll leave for you to discover and enjoy!
8. GROW – Progressive Aging
This mod will vastly improve your overall simming experience as it improves one of the most important features in the game- kids aging.
It’s annoying to see your toddler turn into a teenager in the blink of an eye. Complete a few milestones and suddenly your crawling baby is riding a bicycle within the same day.
The Progressive Aging mod changes the growing-up mechanisms. With this mod in place, your child will grow up over time more naturally and realistically. Every night when they go to sleep, their body will grow and their voice will change.
The age you choose for your child will determine how fast or slow they grow up into adults.
And once your child reaches adulthood, the aging process goes back to normal, i.e., follows the base game rules.
9. Overwatch
The Sims 3 is the best Sims game yet, but it also has the most bugs. Incidentally, it is also the biggest in terms of world-building and story progression. So when you play a single save file for a long time, you’ll start encountering bugs in the game.
Maybe you’ve already seen other Sims stuck for no apparent reason.
That’s what the Overwatch mod helps solve.
It’s a cleanup system that removes bugs, accumulated junk, and hidden errors from time to time. And with these annoyances taken care of, the whole game runs smoother than ever.
If you have multiple mods running simultaneously, Overwatch will keep them out of each other’s way.
And that’s why we think this is one of the best Sims 3 mods that you must get.
10. Story Progression
Replacing the base game’s Story Progression setting, this mod brings categories to Story Progression. So, instead of completely turning it on or off, players can now modify the game’s Story Progression.
It also changes the way NPCs behave and Sims interact with each other. These seemingly tiny tweaks make a huge difference to the overall playing experience.
If you’re sticking to Sims 3, this is a must-have mod.
11. Faster Fixing Up The Fixer Upper Car
The Classically Cool Fixer-Upper Car is a nice little easter egg in Roaring Heights. But there is one problem, it’s a pile of rust that your Sim has to fix before it can hit the road. It’s a one-of-a-kind car, but it takes over 14 hours to fix.
And no matter how awesome a car is, it can not be worth that much labor. At least this one isn’t.
So, you’re better off using this mod.
It has two flavors- the first one lets you fix the car in 10 hours, and the second one Takes 5 hours.
Now you get to decide how much labor you want your Sim to go through.
12. Zoom-In CaS Camera
There’s no denying the amazing customizability in Sims 3. With sliders for almost everything, you can make your Sim look exactly the way you want. But there’s just a slight problem- most of it appears pixelated and you can’t zoom in for detailing.
That is if you don’t have the Zoom-In CaS Camera.
Once you install this mod, you can zoom in to your character’s face to take a closer look at every single customization. This also allows zooming in to the accessories for better styling.
If you are someone who really cares about your Sim’s looks, you need this mod.
13. CAS Overhaul
The CAS Overhaul mod is one that no one should miss out on. It removes the plastic-y shine from all the outfits in The Sims 3 catalog. Even new outfits from DLC packs are fixed.
It’s a menial fix, but it does improve the overall experience.
14. No (Or Fewer) Automatic Memories
It seems anything EA tried to automate turned into a total bust, and the latest victim is the memories scrapbook.
It’s understandable to see pictures of the day you got married or your baby was born in the memories scrapbook.
But, is going to the park really that memorable? No, it’s not.
And the worst part is that no one manually saves that memory. It’s created and stored in the scrapbook automatically, which you then have to remove manually.
So instead of deleting it eventually, how about stopping it altogether?
With this mod in place, the game will stop creating automatic memories and leave more space for the memories that matter to you.
Moreover, this mod comes with a tool that lets you choose which memories to create automatically.
15. Shut Up, Ya Hippies
Shut Up, Ya Hippies is another minimal mod that improves the gameplay in a very specific scenario.
How do you feel about protests? Not good, right?
Those are the worst things to come out of University Life. Random NPCs spawn at random locations holding placards disrupting a perfectly good day. But, the main problem is the bugs they create.
Out of the blue, these protestors will appear in the middle of the sea, standing on the water’s surface, and the whole game starts to feel buggy.
So, with this mod, you get rid of the noisy and unnecessary protests as well as the bugs they bring.
16. Blue Skies & Sunshine Lighting Mod
This lighting mod improves an already beautiful world of The Sims 3 by making it brighter and clearer. The environment of the whole base game is beautified by this mod, but the Live Mode is the real winner here.
Indoor or outdoors, the weird shadows are minimized, and the Sims also look better than usual. From the water to the skies to the sunset and sunrises, everything just looks better than the base game.
And the best part is that you can customize it as per your liking. When done right, this mod can make the Sims 3 world pop!
17. Moar Interactions
Not so clever wordplay, but a fine mod that will freshen up Sim interactions. What this mod does is fix some previous buggy interactions and add a lot of new ones- 28 to be specific.
The new collection of new social interactions includes Ask To Be Trained, Apply For Carpool, or Try To Buy Ingredients from a restaurant. Some previous ones like Workout and Jog have been fixed for no sweating.
There are also some work-related interactions and you can now Work Overtime and Work Part Time Shifts in companies that allow it, but these are rabbit holes.
Now your Sims can also form groups and attend Games or Shows.
18. The Sims 4 Toys
There’s no shame in admitting that The Sims 4 has better toys, and someone loved them enough to bring them to The Sims 3. Sadly, these mere act as decoration objects that children can’t play with.
But it’s still cool to see Dino, Drago, Uni, Blarffy, and a handful of others in The Sims 3. Even as a decor item, these are a nice addition to your Sim child’s bedroom.
19. Children Can Care for Their Siblings
Some dev found it odd that teenagers can’t even pick their baby siblings in The Sims 3 and decided to fix it.
This Sims 3 mod will make Sim parenting easier because your oldest will now be able to help you out. While you’re not around, you can ask your teenage children to take care of the babies.
They’ll take them on walks, toss them in the air, change their outfits, put a baby to bed when it’s tired, and there’s also a tickle interaction.
But there is a slight problem, this mod will conflict with any other mod that changes the interaction mentioned above.
20. The Third Person Mod
If we were to suggest 1 out of the 20 Sims 3 Mods we’ve listed here, we’d pick this one.
The Third Person Mod allows you to see the Sims world from your Sim’s perspective. All of a sudden it seems like an open-world fantasy/adventure game when you control your Sim with W, A, S, and D controls.
The best thing about this mod is that the creator built it from scratch specifically for The Sims 3. So, the movements are seamless and natural.
Moreover, you can easily toggle it on/off- press F1 and your back to the base game perspective without leaving the game to disable the mod.
These are the 20 must-have Sims 3 mods that will refresh the Sims 3 once more so you won’t have to bear The Sims 4. Let’s just hope The Sims 5 finally delivers a killer blow to The Sims 3, because it’s starting to feel dated for some, and Sims 4 almost lived up to expectations.
