The Sims 4 Herbalism Skill (Outdoor Retreat)

Recipes, Ingredients, and the Hermit's Secret Recipe

Sims 4 Outdoor Retreat - The Herbalism Skill lets you Brew Recipes

Outdoor Retreat brings the Herbalism Skill to the Game. Visit Granite Falls to get Started

The Sims 4's Herbalism Skill comes with the Outdoor Retreat Game Pack. This Skill is fairly straightforward. Gain levels and unlock new Recipes to Brew, and learn to identify Herbs found in the massive Forest of Granite Falls. This Guide to Herbalism will list all of the Recipes your Sim can learn, guide you toward the Hermit's location (without spoilers, unless you want) and list the effects of each of the creams, ointments, and liniments your Sim can Brew with the Skill.

How to: Herbalism Cheats
Press Control + Shift + C then type testingcheats on and press enter. You can now set your skill level with stats.set_skill_level major_herbalism x (fill in 1-10) - we also have a full listing of Skill Cheats and a master list of Cheats in The Sims 4

Collect Herbs to Enable your Sim to Brew Concoctions

Collecting Herbs and Insects
Identifying Herbs is the first thing you should do to get started with the Skill. Later, Brewing Recipes will get you to level 10. Herbs are naturally the primary component of these Recipes, but some require regular Gardening produce, and many require Insects. A lot of the Produce needed for the recipes can be found via the Gardening Guide and around Granite Falls (even rares like Blackberries are found there). Finding Herbs is easy - just search around with the camera low, and watch for Plants that sparkle. If your Sim has Gardening level 5, you can not only Harvest the Plants, but also Take Cutting so that you can Graft them onto other existing plants and get more of them later on by incorporating them into your Garden at home.

Sims 4 Outdoor Retreat - Collect insects

Insects can be the hardest part. A good search pattern and keen eye are necessary

Dust Spirits come out at Night in Granite Falls

Insects are another matter all together. You must keep an eye out at all times while searching for Herbs and collect every one that you see. Bugs that fly are the easiest to catch. Those that crawl, however, are much harder. I suggest you keep your Camera at eye level as though you are looking through the Forest yourself, because otherwise treetops will obscure your view. Try to use a pattern and search the Forest without revisiting the same places. It can be tough at first, especially if you're new to Outdoor Retreat, but you'll eventually get the hang of it. Most insects are easiest to spot during daytime, but some like Fireflies and Dust Spirits only come out at night.

As your Skill rises, you'll be more likely to Identify Herbs

Herbalism comes with two main interactions with Herbs. Simply click them in your Sim's inventory to:

Identify Plant
Attempting to Identify an Herb will give your Sim some Skill Experience. You can do this over and over on a high-level herb to help you gain Skill, but it's not really recommended since the most experience comes from Brewing Recipes. By level 5, your Sim should be able to identify all types of Herbs (even Rares) within a few tries.
Eating Plants
Each of the 10 total Herbs has a normal and poisonous variety. If you know it's the normal, it's safe to eat. If you're unsure, don't bother risking it.Some Herbs can leave your Sim itchy for a long time and even need a remedy to get over the ailment quickly. Thankfully, all maladies herbs may produce will go away with time. When testing this, it didn't give me Skill Experience, but it could help your Sim to identify an Herb.

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Fireleaf can be found in a couple of places

Fireleaf can sometimes be found here (near the Hermit's cave in the National Park)
and another possible spawner is near the Waterfall Fishing spot.

Sims 4 Outdoor Retreat - the Hermit's hidden area has Morel Mushrooms

While False Morels are found all over, the Hermit Area sometimes has true Morels in the Rock Garden. It depends on your luck.

Brewing Herbalism Concoctions
As your Sim gains levels in Herbalism, you'll unlock new Recipes. You should save the Herbs you collect for a mass-brewing back at Lodging in Granite falls or your own Home to level the Skill. Making these will give you the most Skill XP out of any of the interactions. It's kind of like Cooking in that way. I preferred to take the Herbs home and plant them on my lot, to ensure I had access to these while at home. Trips to Granite Falls may be necessary in order to collect Insects, as previously mentioned, because they are required in a lot of the best Recipes.

List of Herbs in Outdoor Retreat

The following are the herbs in the game pack. As noted before, there is a poisonous (bad moodlet) and normal (often good moodlet) version of each Herb. I'll also list what happens when you eat them in the notes section. Growth times etc. are for your reference when planting them in your home lot. Prices are for Perfect variants.

Sims 4 Outdoor Retreat Herbs List
Icon	Plant Name	Rarity	Base Value	Growth	Herb's Effects when Eaten
	Chamomile	Common	$14	24h	Found in Granite Falls National Park (Big Forest). Eating gives +1-3 4 hour Happy Moodlet (Quality-determined)
	Toxic Chamomile	Common	$15	24h	Found in Granite Falls National Park (Big Forest). Eating gives +2 Tense Moodlet for 2h
	Elderberry	Common	$6	18h	Found in Granite Falls National Park (Big Forest). Eating gives +1-3 4 hour Happy Moodlet (Quality-determined)
	Noxious Elderberry	Common	$7	18h	Found in Granite Falls National Park (Big Forest). Eating gives +2 Sad Moodlet for 2h
	Huckleberry	Uncommon	$8	18h	Found in Granite Falls National Park (Big Forest). Eating gives +1-3 4 hour Happy Moodlet (Quality-determined)
	Muckleberry	Uncommon	$9	18h	Found in Granite Falls National Park (Big Forest). Eating gives +2 Dazed Moodlet for 2h. Dazed Sims are better targets for Romance.
	Fireleaf	Uncommon	$13	18h	Found in Granite Falls National Park (Big Forest). Eating gives +1-3 4 hour Happy Moodlet (Quality-determined)
	Poison Fireleaf	Uncommon	$11	18h	Found in Granite Falls National Park (Big Forest). Eating gives +2 Angry Moodlet for 2h
	Morel Mushroom	Rare	$17	24h	Morels are sometimes found in the Hidden Area of Granite Falls. Eating gives +1-3 4 hour Happy Moodlet (Quality-determined)
	False Morel Mushroom	Rare	$19	24h	Found in Granite Falls National Park (Big Forest). Eating gives +2 Uncomfortable Moodlet for 2h

Herbalism Recipe List & Skill Unlocks

The only Skill unlocks of Herbalism are the new Recipes your Sim learns. Here's a list of all of them and how to get the Secret Recipe:

Outdoor Retreat Herbalism Recipe List
Lvl	Recipe Name	Brewing Requires Ingredients:	Potion Effects
1	Insect Repellent Liniment	2 Noxious Elderberry, 2 Basil	Prevents Insect Bites while in the Wilderness, which can happen when collecting them.
1	Sadness Alleviation Lotion	2 Elderberry, 1 Firefly	Eliminates any Sadness-inducing Moodlets
1	Fungal Infusion Fertilizer Recipe	3 Morel Mushroom, 2 False Morel, 1 Blackberry, 1 Dust Spirit	Learn from Friendship with Hermit. See below. Likely the best Fertilizer in-game - it should last a long time, but will require further testing. Use it to help Evolve Plants.
2	Deodorizing Cream	1 Elderberry, 1 Strawberry, 2 Parsley	Replenishes the Sim's Hygiene Need. Higher Quality seems to do more.
3	Soothing Skin Balm	2 Chamomile, 2 Basil, 1 Locust	Heals or reduces duration of any insect bites and possibly burns
4	De-Stressing Decoction	2 Chamomile, 2 Muckleberry, 1 Walking Stick	Eliminates Stress Moodlets
5	Tummy Therapy	2 Huckleberry, 2 Sage, 1 Termite	Alleviates Nausea-type Moodlets and other stomach-related ailments
6	Clear Mind Distillation	2 Toxic Chamomile, 2 Huckleberry, 2 Parsley	Gives Sim a +2 Focused Moodlet for 4 hours
6	Fireleaf Extract	2 Poison Fireleaf, 2 Morel Mushroom, 1 Fire Ant	Makes Sims extremely uncomfortable giving Unrelenting Itch for 8h and an upset stomach
7	Natural Herbicide Oil	2 Toxic Chamomile, 3 Fireleaf, 1 Stink Bug	Can only be used on a plant when the 'Weed' option is available. Pouring this oil will remove the weeds and stop them from growing for a time.
8	Energizer Infusion	3 Muckleberry, 2 Poison Fireleaf, 1 Dragonfly	Gives a +2 Energized Moodlet for 4 hours
9	Rage Relieving Salve	3 Noxious Elderberry, 2 Fireleaf, 1 Tomato, 1 Rainbow Firefly	Eliminates any Anger-producing Moodlets
10	Elixir of Fertility	4 False Morel, 2 Sage, 1 Bee, 1 Will-o-the-Wisp	Increases the likelihood of Twins and Triplets

*Value was intentionally left out of the table. These are not worth selling most of the time given the cost and value of ingredients themselves. These are for using to benefit your Sims!

Sims 4 Outdoor Retreat - Learn a Recipe from the Hermit of Granite Falls

You can learn a Recipe from the Hermit of Granite Falls

Secret Recipe from The Hermit
Talking to the Hermit of Granite Falls may give your Sim some Herbalism Skill experience when you talk about it with them, though it seems to stop at a point. The Hermit's role in Herbalism is, upon reaching Good Friends, that you can use the special Interaction, 'Learn Herbalism Recipe' to get the Fungal Infusion Fertilizer Recipe, no matter your level. Be careful cooking this, as it can cause a fire at low level. Becoming Friends with the Hermit is also crucial to Milestone III of Outdoor Retreat's Outdoor Enthusiast Aspiration. Visiting this area is highly recommended, as it's possible you will find Herbs you don't yet have, along with the will-o-the-wisp (rare insect) at night.

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Donna

Did they include anything for storing insects and the new plants? I don't like having a lot of things in my inventory since it doesn't stay where I put it. Do I have any other option besides Keeping them in my inventory?

The Sims 4 Herbalism Skill (Outdoor Retreat)

Recipes, Ingredients, and the Hermit's Secret Recipe

List of Herbs in Outdoor Retreat

Herbalism Recipe List & Skill Unlocks

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