Work vs. Plants and other methods

[Mritha]

Which is more beneficial to gathering exp and simoleons in the long run, sending sims to work or growing plants? (or something else I didn't mention)

I've spent a lot of time in the past growing beans over sending sims to work, it seemed like they would spend half the day not earning much even when they were promoted.

I've also been trying the "spam hobbies" idea to earn exp and simoleans faster. I prefer this method, mainly because between classes I can jump in the game and play with my sims rather than just be disappointed because they are all busy growing or working. However, I rarely have a few hours on my hands to sit down and play; I can normally only grab a few minutes here and there, making this method ineffective for leveling and money farming. (The quick LP gain is nice though)

I know there are guides for earning more simoleans and exp, but which method works best for you and why? As much as I like being able to log in whenever I can and always have something to do, I'm considering going back to growing beans.

[JKCher]

Well I did send my Sims to work at first, but you're right it takes too long and when you want to play they're not there. So I stopped doing that and just did the 'practice' stuff like practicing a speech in front of the mirror or gazing at stars. I do that when I know I won't be around for a bit. This also goes for teens/preteens.

I find if I have time to sit and play I do short term stuff, like growing corn, peppers or carrots, baking stuff that doesn't take long and doing little activities like hugging a cat or watching TV for a few minutes, also hobbying at the 4 minute increments. Maybe some interactions between Sims. Also the more activities you do the more chance you get at resources even though that's still slow going.

When I know I don't want to be sitting there playing constantly I put them to growing stuff for longer increments like an hour or two hours (40 minutes or two hours for baking) or of course the 'practice' stuff.

When I'm leaving them to go to bed at night that is when I'll grow beans with almost all of them because then I've got all this money available the next morning. I'll also put a couple of Sims to bake Caramel Squares or Gingerbread, something like that for XP.

[enkeli63]

I don't like sending sims to work unless I'm going to be away for a few hours and it is actually time for some sims to go to work. Most of my sims are employed, but I only send them to work when I have to.

Hobby farming is the very best way to get xp, §§§ and LP. I like to have one primary sim in each hobby and that sim never changes hobby, but all the other sims rotate through hobbies to get the bonus xp, LP and town value boosts that you earn as you rise through the ranks of a hobby. So I will have my primary ghost hunter and she'll lead a squad of ghost hunters on a ghost hunt for a half hour, for instance. That can be enough to gain 6 LP and several level up bonuses, depending on the levels of the sims in the ghost hunting squad and how many I've got on the hobby. Anyways, when the assistant ghost hunters reach level 8, they are swapped out for sims who reached the max level of woodworking, fashion design, etc. In this way, I am always earning the level up boosts, plus I always have my primary for each hobby that can compete at the competition center and earn a bonus 3 LP on days when I can't play very much.

How often do you get a few minutes to play? You may want to set up sims growing watermelons, potatoes or zucchini (or some of each) and then you can take them to do hobbies when you have time. Say you think you'll be able to play in 2 hours, then send some sims to grow potatoes and when you're ready to play, they're free to do hobbies.

Always set your sims to do some long tasks before bed. You can have some hobby sims work on their hobbies over night on those 8/9 hour shifts if they still need to go up in levels. Otherwise, get your sims growing beans over night, and they should be free to play with for a little bit in the morning when you wake up.

I hope that helps!

[twinmum]

I am only new so dont know that much yet, but so far i have 4 sims working 9pm-5am and the others unemployed to i do have a few to play with between then and when i sleep. But now i have unlocked some plants that can be grown over several hours, i am thinking of getting them to do this overnight instead.

[settie]

I don't remember what plant is available at which level and Perturbee's blog might have more information on plants and careers.

From my own experience, I use the following:

simoleons
I think onions (7hrs) provide the highest returns per hour of planting for long durations. I usually set them to plant onions if I am after money. When I will be away for more than 7 hours I plant beans (9hrs). I also plan how long I will be away from the game which probably reflects how addicted I am to the game! -Usually between lectures.Other than that, carrots are good and so is corn if you are away for short periods but I get bored of carrots because by the time my last sim (number 24) starts to plant carrots I have to return to sim 1.

There seems to be trend that the more XP you get the less $ you get from a plant and vice versa. Someone else might want to verify this?

XP
For XP I use garlic (8hrs) and hamburgers (12hrs). Grinding through hobbies also helps with getting XP bonuses from completing grids and leveling up. I earn about 1% at level 44 from hobbying non-stop for an hour. Redecorating your homes will give you a small XP for items purchased from the home store. I built a second level the other day and got 3% if I remember right. It adds up slowly.

If you dare to try, sim-eating plants and flammable recipes will give you more $ and xp for your time. But if you miss the baked good or the plant, you will not gain any $ from it. My spinner moves too fast for me on my devices so I choose to play it safe

I combine planting with work. Particularly the athletic career option. As an olympian your sim earns $1100 and 1150xp from 4 hours of work. Do note that this seems to be revised with every update. The athletic career used to be only 1 hr from 12-1pm in previous updates.

Usually the combi for $ is onions and athletes and for XP is garlic/hamburgers and athletes. Almost everyone else is employed, they just don't show up at the office. (They work from home! )

LP
General advice on the forums is to complete the hobby grid as you are already doing. It remains the fastest way to earn LP. I usually get more random LP from the following hobbies: ghost hunting and fashion design, when tapping the ghost or ! mark. However, woodwork will help you complete the grid quicker in the current teen idol update as ghost hunting now has the time cap. The occasional drive around town helps me pick up the occasional LP and more $.

LPs, XP and $ can be earned by participating in the competition centre as well if you have built it. I have one sim at the top of every career and hobby specifically for this function. Competitions take 24 hours though and I use this when I cannot hobby. I find that fully inspired sims usually get me first or third place. I have a singing salmon that you might find in other neighbourhoods if you are a newer player. That was from a fishing challenge, perhaps earlier this year? In 30s my competing sim dances to the song and is fully inspired and ready to compete. Otherwise just fulfilling needs bars do the trick too.

And as you might have read in most other posts on other threads, always have an inspired sim! Ah and planting and baking will reap you same amounts of XP and $ regardless of which house you have them do it in, even if it is not their home.

[animagif]

Depending on the level of your island monuments, gardening can be extremely good for both § and xp. For example, a level 15 Riches of Terra monument paired with 10 sims planting bell peppers will yield up to §1000 every minute. Paired with the bonus XP gained from the Flames of Wisdom statue, you're looking at a very cost effective way of earning both. This however requires your constant attention.
If you're looking for something along the line of unsupervised earning, then gardening is still your best bet. I prefer the garlic, beans and the hamburger plant.