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Game Guide · Wants

Wants

every desire, every dream

All 294 wants across 11 categories. Your Parafolk’s desires drive their daily decisions.

294 WANTS

How Wants Work

thought bubbles, decoded

Wants appear in a Parafolk's thought bubble - 294 of them across 11 categories. Which ones show up depends on personality traits, current needs, skills, and what your Parafolk did recently.

Fulfilling a want improves mood. For 180 wants, the exact condition is resolved below from the game files - the action to perform, the item to buy, or the interaction to use. Extra rewards (money, school grades, status effects) are listed where the game grants them.

24 wants are timed and expire if ignored - chain steps, for example, fail after 12 in-game hours. The 27 Personality Abilities are a special case: trait-granted powers with their own tiers and cooldowns.

4 want chains are multi-step series where each fulfilled step offers a harder follow-up - cooking more recipes, longer workouts, bigger paintings, or more time alone.

Daily Life

151

General everyday wants that don't fit a specific category.

e.g. Get a job · Watch TV for 1 hour · Play guitar for 1 hour

Browse all 151 →

Personality Abilities

27

Special abilities granted by personality traits: cooldown-based powers that trigger emotional or skill effects.

e.g. [Grumpy trait] Turn Happiness Into Grumpiness · [Grumpy trait] Turn Sadness Into Grumpiness · [Grumpy trait] All-Out Grump

Browse all 27 →

Food & Drink

19

Wants related to eating, cooking, and trying different foods.

e.g. Eat a snack · Eat cake · Eat until full

Browse all 19 →

Skills & Learning

15

Wants tied to practicing skills and leveling up abilities.

e.g. Level up … skill · Level up a skill · Level up … skill twice

Browse all 15 →

Social

15

Social interaction wants: making friends, flirting, and cooperative activities.

e.g. Successfully flirt · Become friends with … · Flirt with …

Browse all 15 →

Household

14

Cleaning, repair, and household maintenance wants.

e.g. Clean the toilet · Repair the toilet · Repair the shower or bathtub

Browse all 14 →

Shopping

11

Desires to purchase items from the build mode catalog or shops.

e.g. Buy a new computer · Buy a new television · Buy An Easel

Browse all 11 →

Occupation Tasks

9

Work and school tasks including homework assignments and on-the-job activities.

e.g. Fix a bug at home · Level up programming skill · Practice programming at home for 2 hours

Browse all 9 →

Fitness & Outdoors

6

Physical activity and outdoor exploration wants.

e.g. Spend 2 hours outside · Dance for 1 hour · Do 3 different physical exercises for 15 minutes each

Browse all 6 →

Emotions

6

Wants driven by or targeting specific emotional states.

e.g. Cry in the shower · Have Happy as your main emotion · Have Sad as your main emotion

Browse all 6 →

Money & Work

3

Financial goals and workplace advancement wants.

e.g. Gain an upgrade point at work · Make 200 paradimes · Work out with … for 1 hour

Browse all 3 →

4 CHAINS

Want Chains

one step leads to the next

Chains are escalating series: fulfill one step and the next, harder version appears. Each step expires after 12 in-game hours, so the streak takes commitment.

Cooking Streak

  1. 1Cook 2 recipes in 12 hours
  2. 2Cook 3 recipes in 12 hours
  3. 3Cook 4 recipes in 12 hours
  4. 4Cook 5 recipes in 12 hours
  5. 5Cook 6 recipes in 12 hours
  6. 6Cook 7 recipes in 12 hours

Fitness Streak

  1. 1Do push-ups for 15 minutes
  2. 2Do push-ups for 30 minutes
  3. 3Do push-ups for 45 minutes
  4. 4Do push-ups for 60 minutes
  5. 5Do push-ups for 90 minutes
  6. 6Do push-ups for … minutes

Painting Streak

  1. 1Make a small painting
  2. 2Make 2 small paintings in different styles
  3. 3Make a medium painting
  4. 4Make 3 medium paintings in different styles
  5. 5Make a large painting
  6. 6Make 4 large paintings in different styles

Time Alone

  1. 1Be alone for 1 hour
  2. 2Be alone for 2 hours
  3. 3Be alone for 4 hours
  4. 4Be alone for 8 hours
  5. 5Be alone for 12 hours

Frequently asked

Wants FAQ

What are Wants in Paralives?
Wants are desires that appear in your Parafolk's thought bubble, driven by personality, needs, and surroundings. Build 1 ships 294 wants across 11 categories; 27 of them are personality abilities and 180 have concrete fulfillment steps listed on this page.
How do Personality Abilities work?
Personality Abilities are special wants granted by specific personality traits. They have cooldown timers and trigger unique effects like emotional boosts or skill bonuses when fulfilled.
Can I control which wants appear?
Wants are influenced by your Parafolk’s personality, current needs, skills, and environment. While you can’t directly choose wants, shaping your Parafolk’s life will affect what they desire.
What happens when I ignore a want?
Nothing bad: unfulfilled wants simply expire and rotate out, with no penalty. Only 24 of the 294 wants can outright fail, mostly timed occupation tasks; the rest just disappear and make room for new ones.

Last updated:

Data extracted from Paralives Early Access game files (build 1). Stats and counts verified against the shipped catalog.