Sims 4 Life and Death Guide: Why Your Ghost Sims Are Doing It All Wrong

Death is usually the end of the road in the Sims. You see the Reaper, you cry a bit, and then you move on to the next generation. But honestly? The Sims 4 Life and Death expansion basically flipped that script. It’s not just about dying anymore. It's about what you do after you've kicked the bucket—and how you can actually cheat the system to come back better than before.

I’ve spent way too many hours in Ravenwood lately. It's a weird world, but in a good way. You have ghosts wandering around the playground in Crow’s Crossing and literal portals to the netherworld tucked behind office buildings. If you're just letting your Sims turn into ghosts and haunt a toaster, you're missing the point.

Making a Living Out of Dying: The Reaper Career

The biggest draw for most people is the Reaper Profession. It’s an active career, meaning you actually follow your Sim to work. No more "rabbit hole" vanishing for eight hours. You show up at the Netherworld Department of Death (NWDD) and your boss is literally the Grim Reaper.

It feels surprisingly corporate. You start as a "Grimtern." You have to maintain your scythe, practice reaping on mannequins, and scry in a giant bowl to find your next "client." Once you head out into the field, you aren't just taking souls. You have to investigate the cause of death and talk to witnesses.

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The Weekly Soul Quota

There’s a catch. You have a Weekly Soul Quota of 25 souls. It’s a team effort with your coworkers, but if you slack off, Grim isn't happy.

• File the Death Certificate immediately after you get back to HQ. It boosts your performance score for the day.
• Don’t take every plea bargain. Sure, it feels good to revive a Sim because their family is crying, but those revived Sims don't count toward your quota.
• Watch out for emergencies. Sometimes the Scry Bowl breaks or a "Laughter Disaster" happens, and you'll have to handle multiple reapings at once.

The Soul’s Journey and the Burning Soul Trait

If you’ve ever felt like your Sims’ lives were aimless, the Bucket List system fixes that. You start as a Young Adult and pick goals. Maybe you want to travel to every world or just raise a bunch of kids. Completing these fills your Soul’s Journey meter.

This is where the real power-gaming starts. If you complete the "Dreams Fulfilled" tier before you die, you unlock the ability to Rebirth.

Why you want the Burning Soul Trait

This is the holy grail of this pack. To get it, you need to reach the "Big Picture" tier of the Soul’s Journey. This usually requires becoming a ghost first to finish "Unfinished Business." Once you have it and choose to be reborn at the Baleful Bog in Mourningvale, your new Sim is basically a super-human.

• You can Recall Past Life to get a personality trait back from your previous life.
• You can Peer Into Soul using any mirror to instantly get your old reward traits back.
• You even get to keep things like "Transcendent Woohoo" even as a living Sim.

It makes the legacy gameplay feel much more connected. You aren't just playing a random descendant; you're playing the same soul in a new body.

Funerals, Wills, and Leaving a Mess Behind

Let’s talk about the logistics of dying. You can actually write a Will now. You can do it on a computer, at City Hall, or by hiring an Inheritance Lawyer. If you’re feeling lazy, you can even use the Mysterious Merchant, Waylon Warez, but be warned: he’s a scammer. He’ll take a 60% cut of your Simoleons.

Planning the Perfect Send-off

Funerals are now full social events, similar to weddings from My Wedding Stories. You pick a dress code, select activities, and hire "Professional Mourners" if your Sim didn't have enough friends.

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• Cemeteries are a new lot type. The one in Ravenwood, Eternal Hollow, is the best place to host these because it already has the podiums and caskets you need.
• Heirloom Objects are a big deal. You can mark specific items in your house as heirlooms. They gain value over generations and keep a record of who owned them.
• Eulogies can be lighthearted or mournful. Depending on the vibe, your guests might leave feeling comforted or absolutely devastated.

Living (and Floating) in Ravenwood

Ravenwood is split into three very different neighborhoods. Crow’s Crossing is the "in-between" spot where the living and dead mingle. It has that cobbled, old-world feel. Whispering Glen is more rural and cozy—perfect for Sims who want to live off the land but still maybe talk to a tree.

Then there’s Mourningvale. This place is weird. It’s perpetually gloomy and home to the Afterlife Anonymous meetings. If you’re a ghost, this is where you want to be. There’s a nightclub called Club Eternity that feels like something out of a vampire movie, and the Baleful Bog is where the magic of rebirth happens.

Mastering the Afterlife

If you decide to stay a ghost rather than rebirthing immediately, you need to look at Ghost Mastery. It works a lot like the Vampire or Werewolf perk trees. You earn experience by using ghostly abilities.

You can go the "Good" route or the "Evil" route.

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1. Good Ghosts earn Goodwill Essence and can eventually grant the Benevolent Blessing. This gives other Sims a massive skill-gain boost.
2. Evil Ghosts earn Fear Essence and can cast the Otherworldly Curse.
3. Both types can sell their essence to the Mysterious Merchant for quick cash.

Being a ghost isn't just about being transparent anymore. You have needs like Goo Waste (replacing Bladder) and Ethereal Sustenance (replacing Hunger). You can even have "Ghastly Encounters" with living Sims.

Actionable Tips for Your Next Save

If you want to make the most of the Sims 4 Life and Death mechanics, start early. Don't wait until your Sim is an Elder to think about their Bucket List.

1. Write the Will early. If your whole household dies in a freak fire and you didn't have a Will, your money and items just vanish.
2. Visit the festivals. The Ravenwood festivals happen almost daily. They are the easiest way to find the Tarot Cards you need to complete the Lady Ravendancer’s Deck.
3. Use the "Macabre" trait. It makes Sims much more comfortable around the Reaper and helps them build the Thanatology skill faster.
4. Don't rush Rebirth. Stay a ghost for a while. Max out your Ghost Mastery to level 5 (Transcendent Wraith) so you can get those permanent rewards before you start your next life.

The real secret to this pack is that death is just a mechanic for progression. By the time you’ve rebirthing for the third or fourth time, you’ll have a Sim with so many reward traits and "past life" bonuses that they'll be practically unstoppable.