Knowing how to build a pond in The Sims 4 can give your outdoor space a really classy look, and the good news is you can do it with the base game or the Cottage Living expansion. For many players, this option is long overdue, as it means you can finally produce a nice looking water feature in formal ways without having to resort to creating something out of plants and a pond. Of course, they have a function in addition to looking beautiful in your garden, because you can fish in them without leaving your home.
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Learning how to build a pond in The Sims 4 isn’t as easy as building a pool, here’s how to get started. Now we cover everything you need to do to build a pond, how to add accessories to it, add fish to it as well as catching fish and more.
How to make a pond in The Sims 4
1. Use the all-terrain vehicle to make your pond shape
In Build/Buy Mode go to off-road vehicles and select “Subterrain” in the “Paint Vehicle” field. You can then use this to make the basic shape of your pond. You can switch between brush styles (round or square) and adjust the speed at which your tool penetrates the terrain – it lets you control the depth a bit more easily.
Compared to pond tools, using terrain brushes will make your pond look much more natural and work better with the landscape.
2. Fill with water
Once you’re happy with your basic pond or river shape, switch to the “Watercraft” section of the terrain menu. Here you only have the option to raise the water level, which will add a layer of water with every click based on the vague waterline lines you can see on the land slope.
Or you can select the “Fill Water to Level” option, which will automatically fill your pool to the max. You can also set your maximum water level for better design features.
3. Accessorize
Now that you’ve created your base pond, you can now add some accessories, including flora and fauna. Next to the off-road vehicles in Build/Buy Mode, there is a new section called “Outdoor Water Decor”. Here you can change the type of water (there are also new pool-specific options), add plants, rocks and logs, and also what are known as “Pond Effects”. These are small tiles that you can throw in your pond to spawn things like ducks, swans or various insects. They definitely add more character to your pool.
However, keep in mind that the “Bayfish” option in Pond Effects is purely decorative, so if you’re looking to add catchable (and edible) fish to your ponds, read on for the next step.
How to add fish to ponds in The Sims 4
To turn your beautiful new pond into a fisherman’s paradise, you must first add the “Fishing Sign” to your pond in the “Pond Objects” section of “Outdoor Water Decor”. Selecting the tick in Live Mode allows your sim to add fish as well as see what fish can be caught in each pond.
However, to add fish to a pond your sims must have saved some fish in their notebooks – you can’t buy them from a catalog or anything. There are two easy ways to do this though:
1. Go fishing
By fishing anywhere, your Sims will learn about various types of fish – and the more they catch, the more knowledge and Fishing Skills they’ll gain. Once you catch one of each species you will be able to add that species to your home pond. And yes, this applies to the more tropical fish species you can find in the various Sims 4 expansions.
2. Go grocery shopping
If you don’t want to spend this time fishing away from home, there is another shortcut to fish stocks, and that is shopping.
Either go to a store or use the new “Grocery Delivery” option via phone to fill your pockets with a variety of fish. After purchasing some, you can use these species to stock your pond.
Not the cheapest way, but the fastest. And we all use ‘Motherlode’ cheats, right?
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