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Materialistic
May 25, 2026 at 02:20 PM
Corrected wikilink existence flags
Materialistic is one of the fifteen new personality characteristics introduced in the inZOI v0.4.0 Halloween update released on October 30, 2025. A Materialistic Zoi treats shopping as a primary source of happiness and ties a meaningful portion of their self image to how things around them look. The in-game description reads, "I feel joy when buying new clothes or furniture. I'm sensitive about appearances, and I get irritated easily if things are not clean."
The characteristic arrived as part of the larger mentality system overhaul that unified traits, characteristics, ambitions, and urges into a single personality layer. Materialistic is one of two characteristic slots a young adult (or older) Zoi can fill, and it pairs well with any goal that involves high earnings, luxury housing, or fashion. It also works as a useful foil when a player wants to explore stories about status, consumerism, or superficial rivalries.
Characteristics were reorganised in v0.4.0 so that every Zoi aged Young Adult or older can hold up to two characteristics that do not conflict with each other. The Materialistic characteristic is a lifestyle descriptor rather than a full trait. It layers onto the main trait to shape a Zoi's moods and urges rather than replacing the trait's core behavior.
A Materialistic Zoi combines two intertwined behaviours. The first is an attraction to purchases. New outfits and furniture pieces generate positive moodlets that a non-Materialistic Zoi would feel less strongly about. The second is sensitivity to appearances. The Zoi notices untidy homes, stained clothing, and worn furniture faster than a neutral Zoi, which can push them into irritable moods when the visual state of their surroundings falls below their internal standard.
The characteristic card shown in Create a Zoi describes a Materialistic Zoi using the first person voice the mentality system now uses for most entries: "I feel joy when buying new clothes or furniture. I'm sensitive about appearances, and I get irritated easily if things are not clean." This framing mirrors the way the developers documented the other v0.4.0 additions such as Cheerful, Childish, and Fitness Enthusiast, where the player sees the personality described from the Zoi's own perspective.
Two key words in that description carry most of the gameplay weight. "Joy" signals that Materialistic Zois gain mood benefits from activities that involve spending money or acquiring items, which is a significant lever in a game where emotions unlock new interactions and skill gains. "Irritated easily" signals that Materialistic Zois are more likely to drop into negative moods when visual cleanliness slips, so the characteristic interacts with the home needs system and with how often the household is maintained.
The in-game characteristic description and the v0.4.0 patch notes describe two reinforcing effects. Positive outcomes come from shopping, dressing up, and redecorating. Negative outcomes come from untidy surroundings or outfits below the Zoi's comfort level. The table below summarises the practical effects that stem from those two ideas.
Situation | Likely Result |
|---|---|
Buying new clothes at a clothing store | Positive mood boost above the baseline other Zois receive. |
Placing or upgrading furniture in build mode | Positive mood moodlet when the household returns to live mode. |
Wearing a dirty or outdated outfit | Irritation builds faster than on a neutral Zoi, nudging the Zoi toward shopping urges. |
Living in an untidy or low cleanliness home | Negative moodlet; the Zoi is more likely to choose cleaning urges autonomously. |
Boosted fun and social gains from the scenery and visible luxury. |
Because the mentality system rewrote urges in v0.4.0, Materialistic Zois also tend to roll shopping, redecorating, and outfit change urges more often than Zois without the characteristic. Completing those urges fills the Fulfillment gauge that drives long term life satisfaction. The patch notes confirm that over 140 new urges were added and 120 existing urges were reworked so that each personality rolls options that match their declared style.
Materialistic slots cleanly into any build that values social visibility or income. Recommended partner characteristics include:
Neat Freak: both characteristics care about appearances, so mood penalties from mess stack, and the Zoi keeps the home and themselves sharp enough to maximise the shopping high.
Extroverted: being seen is half the appeal of new outfits, and an outgoing Zoi will generate more opportunities to show them off in public venues.
Cheerful: compounding happy moodlets from both shopping and liked activities tends to keep the Zoi in a green mood state during the long early adult grind.
Fitness Enthusiast: supports the appearance-focused angle of the characteristic by keeping the Zoi in shape to model new clothing.
Several characteristics create obvious friction with the Materialistic identity. These are either directly blocked in the Create a Zoi selector because the characteristic system prevents conflicting pairings, or they are playable together but run against the grain of the build.
Slacker: finds chores bothersome, so the home and outfits fall below the Materialistic Zoi's comfort threshold almost constantly, creating a near permanent irritation state.
Clumsy: frequent breakages damage the furniture and display pieces the Zoi is emotionally attached to.
Depressed: negative moods already dominate the mood bar, so the shopping joy never quite lifts the Zoi high enough to reach green states.
Introverted: works tolerably but strips out the display benefit of a polished look, because the Zoi avoids the crowded venues where outfits get noticed.
Because the Materialistic identity pulls so strongly on earnings and appearance, some story setups benefit from it more than others.
Pair Materialistic with the Fashion Designer ambition (or any creative career that involves crafting clothing or home goods). The positive moodlets from buying and wearing new outfits stack with the creativity gains from practicing the craft, which keeps the Zoi consistently in the emotion states that speed up skill growth.
A rags to riches run that starts the Zoi in a cramped apartment and pushes toward a Dowon penthouse plays into the characteristic's strengths. Each upgrade point, from a better couch to a completely new house, delivers the intended serotonin spike rather than feeling like a neutral event. Tie the run to the wealth system if you are tracking income goals.
The Creator career rewards appearance-conscious Zois who post outfit changes and redecorating sessions. A Materialistic Zoi paired with Extroverted Gets real social and mood value from streaming shopping hauls or home tours, which speeds up follower growth.
Because Materialistic Zois read appearances quickly, they generate natural friction with neighbours who dress casually or keep messy homes. This makes them a useful tool for players writing household-drama stories in the inZOI editor or the personality system sandbox. Combine with the Malicious trait for antagonist Zois who weaponise social judgement.
Plan shopping trips in advance. Visiting a clothing store or furniture vendor is one of the most reliable ways to top up mood, so use it as the equivalent of a coffee break before important career events.
Keep a stocked wardrobe. Because the Zoi is sensitive to outfit quality, slotting multiple saved outfits lets you swap looks through the day without running out of clothes the characteristic is fresh about.
Watch the home cleanliness bar. The irritation penalty builds in sync with grime, so schedule a daily housework pass or assign a household member with a cleaning-friendly characteristic.
Budget for hobbies. The shopping urges trigger frequently and can drain a household if the Zoi is the primary earner, so set a savings target before allowing autonomous shopping trips.
Pair with a high income career. Because the characteristic pushes toward expensive purchases, an arts, business, or corporate career makes the behaviour sustainable rather than ruinous.
Use the Ghost and funeral content from v0.4.0 sparingly. Materialistic Zois accumulate a lot of personal items, so plan an inheritance path if you are running a multi generational household. The v0.4.0 funeral system handles the transfer cleanly once it is set up.
