The Businesses & Hobbies expansion pack forThe Sims 4added plenty of new features for those Sims most interested in building their skills and expanding their horizons, and one of the ways you’ll be able to do that is by acquiring Mastery Perks as you gain new skills.

With 18 potential Mastery Perks in The Sims 4: Businesses & Hobbies, but only four slots for each Sim to obtain these perks, you’ll want to focus most on the ones that help your Sim get ahead with their talents. Gain some skills or talk to sage Sims to get started.

Gert Koopman with his Mastery Perk activated, teaching a Sim to sculpt in The Sims 4 Businesses and Hobbies.-1

How To Earn Mastery Perks

Skill-building is unavoidable in The Sims 4, with so many life necessitiestied to skill progression, but you’ll likely want to home in on what your Sims goals and aspirations are and grow those talents in time. As youreach high levels of skills(or, even better, max them out), you stand the chance to potentially gain a new Mastery Perk.

The higher the skill level, the better the chances. As such, you’ll notice thatElders are most likely to have these Perks innately, since they’ll have had more time to master their passions throughout their lives. Younger Sims aren’t barred from obtaining these perks, but it’s vastly more difficult for them, since the Perks are related tomasteringa skill.

Cannonball Coleman with his Powerful Performer Mastery Perk in The Sims 4 Businesses and Hobbies, looking at a framed saxophone.

Once obtained, Mastery Perks serve a variety of purposes, based on which Perks your Sim has earned. Your Sim might discovermanually activated Perks, like those that bestow some extra experience onto other Sims around them or improves the quality of an item (which isgreat for teaching classes), orpassive Perksthat are only applicable to themselves but provide a similar boost or ability, like those that offer extra satisfaction or experience for the Sim that has the Perk. They can be found in theSkills tabof your Simology panel.

Just beware that each Sim can only have up to four Mastery Perks at a time. You can remove a Mastery Perk using the Skill Mastery Perk Remover from the Rewards Store to clear one Perk at any time, if you’d like to make space for a new one.

Cannonball Coleman playing Piano in the park with his Mastery Skill in The Sims 4 Businesses and Hobbies.-1

How To Earn More Skill Mastery Perks

Your Sims’ Mastery Perks are obtained throughrandom chance cardsin theBusinesses & Hobbies expansion, like the ones you get for work events and other pop-up decisions in the game. The card asks if you’d like to obtain a perk related to the skill your Sim is practicing, and you’ll be able to choose from here.

If you’re not looking to build up to a Mastery Perk organically, there are two ways to obtain them. You can eitherbuy the Skill Mastery Perk Bestowerfrom the rewards store, but beware it’s one of the more expensive options at 8,000 satisfaction points per Mastery Perk you’d like to receive.

Asking Gert Koopman for his Mastery Perk in The Sims 4 Businesses and Hobbies.

Additionally, you could evenask Elders who have Mastery Perksif they’d be willing to share it with you as well. You’ll need to build a strong relationship with this Sim before asking them, so this is easiest done withtalented Elders or mentorsin your family or those who appear frequently around the neighborhood, but beware that they still might not agree.

By default, several townieSims around Nordhavenhave Mastery Perks when you install the Businesses & Hobbies expansion (not all of them Elders) to provide quicker access to getting them. These Sims include:

What it Does

Active Aura

Provides the option to “Activate Active Aura” on themselves, which gives nearby Sims a boost to any Active skills they’re currently working to build.

Aspirational Creator

This Sim earns 10 extra Satisfaction Points when they create something of high-quality (like paintings, cooked meals, and more).

Aspirational Thinker

This Sim earns 20 extra Satisfaction Points when they spend time working on their mental skills (like Logic, Robotics, and more).

Creative Aura

Provides the option to “Activate Creative Aura” on themselves, which gives nearby Sims a boost to any Creative skills they’re currently working to build.

Final Touch

Interacting with a crafted object (like paintings, woodworking items, and any handicrafts) offers the chance to upgrade its quality by one level.

In the Zone

When this Sim is working on their skills, all of their needs remain static for four hours after they begin the skill-building activity to allow for more focused time skill-building.

Mental Aura

Provides the option to “Activate Mental Aura” on themselves, which gives nearby Sims a boost to any Mental skills they’re currently working to build.

Mental Muscles

Your Sim can gain Active skills while working on their Mental skills, but their Fitness-based skills will decline much faster should they neglect actual physical skill-building as well.

Pigeonholed (Active)

Any Sim with a Pigeonholed trait will experience the same effect: they’ll be able to gain skills in the named subset (Active, Creative, Mental, and Social) much faster than normal, at the cost of the skills related to the other three categories growing at a 50% slowdown. For example, if your Sim has Pigeongoled (Social) and decides to start working onbuilding the Painting skillat the same time as the Comedy skill, you’ll seethe Comedy skillexperience come pouring in when your Sim works on said skill, but they’ll gain their Painting skill at half the normal pace in exchange.

Pigeonholed (Social)

Powerful Performer

When this Sim is performing, they remove negative moodlets from Sims in the audience and can even automatically gain relationship points with them.

Second Wind

Sometimes when your Sim is building their Active skills, they’ll randomly have their Energy, Hunger, Hygiene, and Bladder motives refilled completely. When this happens, any fatigue-based moodlets that prevent them from continuing to exercise will be removed as well.

Secret Spice

Interacting with cooked meals or baked goods offers the option for this Sim to increase the dish’s quality by one level.

Skillful Sleep

This Sim can opt for a “Skillful Sleep” instead of simply going to bed at night, which creates something of a clone of that Sim. As their actual body rests through the night, the clone will remain awake practicing skills, and when the real Sim wakes up, they’ll immediately gain any skill experience the clone earned overnight.

Allows this Sim to teleport.

Stellar Stamina

Not only does stamina deplete slower when this Sim works out, but they’ll never find themselves Dangerously Tired, a moodlet that can easily kill Elderly Sims if they’re physically overexerted.

Continue to hone the skills you’re most interested in organically, and the Skill Mastery Perks will come to you in time!