The Sims 4: How to Rebirth – A Comprehensive Guide to Reincarnating Your Sims

Key Takeaways

1. Unlock Rebirth Through Soul’s Journey: Complete essential tasks in the Soul’s Journey to enable Rebirth, a unique feature in The Sims 4: Life and Death expansion.
2. Choose Immediate Rebirth or Become a Ghost Sim: Decide whether to Rebirth immediately or explore the ghost form as a “Burning Soul” for advanced rebirth perks.
3. Customize the New Life Stage: Customize your Sim’s life stage, traits, and appearance post-rebirth, allowing them to reconnect with their past life’s relationships and memories.

The world of The Sims 4 continues to expand, and with the Life and Death expansion, players now have the power to extend their Sims’ lives through reincarnation. Rebirth isn’t simply a return to the mortal realm; it’s an entire process that allows players to customize their Sim’s next life, whether by maintaining ties to their former life or embracing a fresh start. Here’s a deep dive into unlocking Rebirth and guiding your Sim through their next chapter.

Understanding the Rebirth Process in The Sims 4

The Rebirth feature in The Sims 4: Life and Death expansion is part of the new Soul’s Journey progression, where Sims can transcend death and be reborn, either immediately or later in the afterlife. This guide will walk you through the mechanics of Rebirth, from meeting the requirements to choosing between Rebirth options.

Reaper Career and Thanatology Skill

For Sims interested in the secrets of life, death, and the afterlife, the Thanatology Skill is key. This skill, unlocked with the Life and Death expansion, allows Sims to deepen their understanding of the metaphysical. As part of the Reaper career track, this skill includes benefits that accelerate the Soul’s Journey, giving your Sim a head start toward Rebirth.

How to Unlock Rebirth in The Sims 4

To access Rebirth, a Sim must progress through specific milestones in their Soul’s Journey, particularly the Dreams Fulfilled tier. Here’s how to approach it:

1. Complete the Living Bucket List: During their life, Sims should aim to complete all essential bucket list items. This includes fulfilling personal dreams and relationship goals.
2. Advance the Soul’s Journey as a Playable Ghost: If a Sim didn’t complete Dreams Fulfilled before death, they can progress as a ghost. This choice lets players keep unlocking Rebirth abilities even after passing on.
3. Choose Rebirth or the Burning Soul Path: Sims can either Rebirth immediately upon death or opt to continue as a ghost, unlocking additional Rebirth options and perks over time.

Rebirth Options Explained

Players can choose from two paths for their Sims once they complete the initial tiers of the Soul’s Journey.

1. Immediate Rebirth

Sims who reach the first six tiers of the Soul’s Journey can choose to Rebirth right after passing away. This option allows the Sim to start fresh in a new body without lingering in the afterlife. Here’s how to proceed with immediate Rebirth:

• Select the Rebirth option at the moment of death.
• Choose the household for the Sim’s new life.
• Customize their appearance and life stage as desired.

2. Rebirth as a Burning Soul

For those who prefer to delay Rebirth, there’s the Become a Playable Ghost option. By choosing this, players can complete two extra tiers of the Soul’s Journey, unlocking the Burning Soul trait. This trait not only allows for deeper customization in the next life but also grants Sims access to past traits, skills, and memories.

To pursue this path, players must:

• Finish additional bucket list goals to unlock the Burning Soul trait.
• Visit the Baleful Bog in the Ravenwood Mourningvale neighborhood when ready to initiate Rebirth.

Customizing Your Sim Post-Rebirth

One of the exciting parts of the Rebirth feature is the ability to customize your Sim’s new life stage and appearance, making it feel like a fresh start. Here’s what you need to know:

1. Choose Their Life Stage: Sims can come back at any stage of life, from infancy to adulthood. Reborn Sims at a younger age will retain access to key toddler and infant skills, while older Sims may regain a personality trait once they reach the teenage years.
2. Appearance Customization: In Create-a-Sim, players can decide whether their Sim resembles their previous life or genetically align with members of their new household. This feature lets players blend familiarity with fresh genetics.
3. Household and Relationship Setup: Set relationships between the reborn Sim and others in the household. For example, assign them as siblings or offspring, creating a believable family dynamic.

How to Recover Past Traits and Memories

A unique part of Rebirth in The Sims 4 is the ability to reconnect with a Sim’s past self. Through interactions and skills, players can unlock memories and personality traits from their Sim’s former life.

Restoring Personality Traits

To bring back personality traits from a past life:

1. Recall Past Life: This self-interaction allows the Sim to remember one personality trait from their previous life.
2. Peer Into Soul (Mirror Interaction): By interacting with a mirror, the Sim can recall Reward Traits, adding layers of depth to their new life.

Reconnecting with Past Relationships

Reborn Sims can also reestablish bonds with loved ones from their former life. However, this process requires building rapport, as Sims may not immediately recognize each other. Here’s how to navigate these interactions:

• Friendly > Greet Familiar Face: Initiate with a friendly greeting.
• Deep Thoughts > Talk about Odd Familiarity: Open a conversation about the strange sense of connection.
• Deep Thoughts > Talk about Previous Life: Gradually reveal the Sim’s past life and explore these memories.

Where to Rebirth: The Baleful Bog

The mystical Baleful Bog in the Ravenwood Mourningvale neighborhood is central to Rebirth. Sims can go here to start their reincarnation journey after completing the necessary Soul’s Journey tiers. At the Baleful Bog, players can initiate Rebirth, selecting the household and customizing their Sim’s new life details before rejoining the living.

Rebirth Tracking in the Soul’s Journey Panel

The Soul’s Journey panel keeps track of the number of times a Sim has been reborn. This unique feature enables players to manage their Sim’s reincarnations, ensuring each life carries a hint of the past while allowing for new adventures and character development.

FAQ

1. Can Sims remember everything from their past life immediately?
No, Sims will gradually unlock memories through interactions with past loved ones. It takes time to reestablish these connections.

2. Do all Sims qualify for Rebirth?
Only Sims who complete the necessary tiers of the Soul’s Journey, either before or after death, can be reborn.

3. Can a reborn Sim alter their appearance completely?
Yes, players can either keep their Sim’s previous look or customize their appearance based on the genetics of the new household.

The Rebirth feature in The Sims 4 offers a creative and immersive way to explore your Sim’s life journey across multiple lifetimes. With endless customization options and the chance to retain cherished memories, Rebirth transforms every new life stage into a unique chapter worth playing out.