The Sims 3 released on 2 June 2009 and is still the entry in the series that most players point to when they argue about open worlds, because you can walk a Sim from home to the park to a friend's house without a single loading screen. It replaced the old personality point sliders with five traits chosen per Sim plus a Lifetime Wish, added moodlets that push mood up and down for concrete reasons, and shipped Create a Style so any object or garment can be recoloured and repatterned. Eleven expansion packs and nine stuff packs followed, adding worlds, life states and whole skill trees. The awkward part in 2026 is the plumbing: the Steam build of the base game sits on patch 1.67 and cannot update further, patch 1.69 only arrives through the EA app after Origin closed on 17 April 2025, and the Windows executable is still 32 bit, which caps how much memory a heavily modded save can use. Plan around that from your first save and the game holds up remarkably well.
The Sims 3 features distinct areas with increasing difficulty. This guide covers every major location in progression order: what to do, what to get, and when to move on. For the step-by-step path, see our walkthrough.
Area Progression Order
| Order | Location | Difficulty | Key Rewards | Recommended Build |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sunset Valley | Base game, best first world | Full community lot set, prebuilt families to play or watch, gentle performance load | Werewolf |
| 2 | Riverview | Base game plus free download | Farmland lots for large gardens, quiet layout that runs well | Werewolf |
| 3 | Bridgeport | Requires the Late Night expansion | Apartments and penthouses, club venues, celebrity system, vampire encounters | Vampire |
| 4 | Twinbrook | Requires the Ambitions expansion | Scrapyard for inventing materials, profession call out locations, laundry and consignment features | Vampire |
| 5 | Moonlight Falls | Requires the Supernatural expansion | Alchemy ingredients, occult households, full moon events, gem and elixir sources | Vampire |
Sunset Valley: Starting Area
The base game world and the one every new save should start in, a suburban coastal town with playable versions of families that appear in Sims lore. It is small enough to run smoothly and has an even spread of community lots.
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | Base game, best first world |
| Key Rewards | Full community lot set, prebuilt families to play or watch, gentle performance load |
| Recommended Build | Werewolf |
| Key Equipment | Guitar |
What to Do Here
- Learn the basics of Five traits and a Lifetime Wish. This is where you practice without heavy punishment.
- Collect starting resources and your first equipment upgrade.
- Clear all main content before moving to Riverview.
- If you're struggling, read our beginner's guide.
Riverview: Early Game
A free downloadable world EA released alongside the base game, rural and farm themed with more space between lots. It has fewer premade households than Sunset Valley, which suits players who want to fill a town themselves.
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | Base game plus free download |
| Key Rewards | Farmland lots for large gardens, quiet layout that runs well |
| Recommended Build | Werewolf |
| Key Equipment | Guitar |
What to Do Here
- Focus on mastering Open neighbourhood with no load screens. It's critical from this point on.
- Farm for Guitar if you don't have it yet.
- Complete all objectives for maximum rewards.
- Prepare for the difficulty spike in Bridgeport.
Bridgeport: Mid Game
The city world added by the Late Night expansion, built vertically with high rise apartments, penthouses and gated nightclubs. Vampires and the celebrity system both live here, so it is the world to pick for a nightlife save.
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | Requires the Late Night expansion |
| Key Rewards | Apartments and penthouses, club venues, celebrity system, vampire encounters |
| Recommended Build | Vampire |
| Key Equipment | Guitar |
What to Do Here
- This is the main skill check. Bring an optimized build.
- Easel becomes accessible here. Prioritize getting it.
- Master Moodlets and Lifetime Happiness rewards for the boss encounters.
- Check our boss guide if you get stuck.
Twinbrook: Late Game
The swampy industrial world that came with Ambitions, designed around the self employed professions that expansion introduced. Firefighter, investigator, stylist and ghost hunter jobs all have call outs across its lots.
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | Requires the Ambitions expansion |
| Key Rewards | Scrapyard for inventing materials, profession call out locations, laundry and consignment features |
| Recommended Build | Vampire |
| Key Equipment | Easel |
What to Do Here
- Full build optimization is expected by this point.
- Easel should be your primary, fully upgraded.
- Story Progression mastery starts mattering here.
- Farm resources for the push into Moonlight Falls.
Moonlight Falls: Endgame
The Supernatural expansion world, a foggy small town where witches, werewolves and fairies live openly alongside ordinary Sims. Full moons trigger world wide events here, and the alchemy skill has its ingredient sources built into the map.
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | Requires the Supernatural expansion |
| Key Rewards | Alchemy ingredients, occult households, full moon events, gem and elixir sources |
| Recommended Build | Vampire |
| Key Equipment | Easel |
What to Do Here
- This is endgame. Best-in-slot gear and a perfected build are mandatory.
- See our boss guide for endgame fight strategies.
- The reward loop: clear content → upgrade → push harder content.
- Experiment with Genie for variety once you've mastered the meta.
Exploration Tips
- Clear areas in order: Sunset Valley → Riverview → Bridgeport → Twinbrook → Moonlight Falls. Skipping areas means missing resources you'll need later.
- Check every corner: Hidden caches and secrets are often in non-obvious locations.
- Match your equipment: Some areas favor different equipment types.
- Read the walkthrough: Our walkthrough provides exact progression milestones for each area.
- Don't rush: Clearing an area fully gives more resources than speedrunning two areas.
More The Sims 3 Guides
- The Sims 3 The Sims 3 Overview
- The Sims 3 Best Builds
- The Sims 3 Tier List
- The Sims 3 Walkthrough
- The Sims 3 Beginner's Guide
- The Sims 3 Tips & Tricks
- The Sims 3 Weapons Guide
- The Sims 3 Combat Guide
- The Sims 3 Boss Guide
- The Sims 3 Crafting Guide
- The Sims 3 Classes & Characters
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