Guide to the Research and Debate Skill

The Sims 4 Discovery University expansion pack brought university life to the Sims 4 and a variety of new skills and careers. One of these skills includes the Research and Debate skill which can propel your sim through the law career and be used to persuade the sims around them.

This article will guide you through the research and debate skill, including how to use cheats to instantly gain the research and debate skill, and go through how to get the most out of benefits that come with the research and debate skill.

The Research and Debate Skill

The research and debate skill has 10 levels and focuses on your sim's ability to think critically and to persuade other sims in their day to day social interactions. Sims can level up their research and debate skill by using the research archive machine or stepping up to debate using the daring debator podium set.

Levels

Convincing other Sims

Once Sim gets level 3 your sim will now have a new social interaction option. When you click on another sim you will notice a new tab "Convince to..." You can now convince another Sim to bathe, clean, cook, do your sim's homework, or go streaking. You can also use your sim's phone to call your boss and ask for a raise.

Contributing Knowledge

Once you reach level 6 of the research and debate skill you can start contributing knowledge to the research and archive machine for some quick cash. You do want to be careful and not contribute too much knowledge at once or you risk death by research and archive machine. You can most likely get by contributing knowledge a few times in a row, but you may want to stop if your sim gets a dizzy moodlet after contributing knowledge.

Cheats

If you don't want to go through the trouble of earning the research and debate skill, you can use cheats to level up your Sim instantly. To use Cheats in the Sims 4 hold down Ctrl+Shift+C for windows or Command (⌘)+Shift+C for Mac at the same time and a small bar will appear at the top left hand corner of the screen where you can type.

Once you have the cheat bar open, you need to type in state.set_skill_level major_researchdebate x. Replace the x with any number between 1-10 to represent whichever level you'd like your sim to achieve.

The Research and Archive Machine

A Research Archive Machine is pretty similar to a computer, however you don't get the full functionality of a computer, so don't rely on it to purchase anything or pay your bills. You can grow your Research and Debate skill by researching a variety of different skills. As a bonus, if your sim is enrolled in university you can also use the research archive machine to study for your classes.

When you first click on the Research and Debate Skill as a new sim who has no skills the only option you can click on is research. You can choose a lot of different options for your sim to research. A benefit of the researching on the research archive machine is that you can build two skills at once, the Research and Debate skill and the skill your sim is researching.

For example, if you choose to research "Results of Photo Editing" your sim will grow the research and debate skill along with his photography skill. You can essentially master two skills at once.

Both Britechester University and Foxbury Institute have Research Archive Machines on their campuses. The research archive machine can be difficult to find, so I wrote this article to help for those having trouble locating the research archive machine on your Sim's campus or want to learn more about the research archive machine.

There is another type of Research Archive Machine called the TY84 Gold Plus Research Archive Machine that is unlockable, you have to become a Senior Member of the Debate Guild. (the Debate Guild and how to become a member is discussed below). This version of the Research Archive Machine has a higher reliability rating (reliability 8) than the basic Electromagnetic Research Archive Machine (reliability 6). So you won't have to worry about needing to repair the TY84 Gold Plus version as much.

The Daring Debater Podium Set

The Daring Debator Podium Set is where your sim can step up to the Podium to debate other sims. Engaging in debate is a create way to increase your Sim's research and debate skill. To prepare for debates you will want to use the research archive machine and choose to either research a specific topic or "prep for debate."

Once your sim has research a topic enough and prepped for the debate, you can test your sim's knowledge by choose to debate a sim on a specific topic. Once your sim finishes prepping for a debate you will gain a moodlet that gives your sim a +2 confidence boost which will help your sim win their upcoming debate.

After your sim wins a debate your sim will earn have a moodlet that gives your sim a +1 confidence boost and last for 4 hours. If your sim is defeating your sim will have to get through the next 2 hours with a moodlet that gives your sim +2 embarrassment.

Tip: Some topics may be greyed out and unavailable to your sim if your sim has not researched that particular topic enough, you may need to head back over to the research and archive machine to make sure your ready to go. As you level up your research and debate skill, more topics will become available for your sim to debate and they will have a better chance of winning.

The Debate Guild

The Debate Guild is a student organization at the University of Britechester. The student organization focuses on the Research and Debate skill and holds multiple events each week. Your sim will have the ability to make new friends and challenge them in rigorous debates.

When you first join the Debate Guild you will start out as a new member and will be required to complete certain tasks to climb the ranks to be senior member. As your climb up the ranks your sim will earn new rewards and eventually have the ability to influence their professors to help secure their straight A's.

How to join the Debate Guild

To join the Debate Guild you have to meet a member of the organization first. One of the easiest ways to meet a member is by going to the Debate Showdown that happens every Saturday at 8:00 am at the University of Britechester Outdoor Quad. At the debate showdown your sim can choose to participate in the debate tournament. If your sim wins a debate you will receive a small payout that can help any struggling university student.

Once you meet a member of the Debate Guild you can ask to join. If you have a good relationship with that member your chances of being accepted are much better. Once your a member, you will have a variety of tasks you have to complete to raise in the ranks of the Debate Guild. You will also know about all the events the Debate Guild throws and can strengthen your relationships with the other members.

If you want to learn more about the Debate Guild, this article will go through each step to help easily walk you through the process until your sim is a senior member of the Debate Guild.

Career Options

The research and debate skill is necessary if you want to become a successful attorney in the Sims 4. The law career is one of the career paths that comes with Sims 4 University. The law career allows your sim to choose between becoming a judge or a private attorney.

How your sim performs at university and the major which your sim chooses will impact your sim's overall pay with whichever path your sim may choose. If you want to learn more about the law career and see a complete break down of all pay outcomes, I wrote this article which goes into depth on everything you need to know for your sim to be successful.