Relationships

Overview

Relationships are the connective tissue between Zois. Every conversation, shared activity, and life event either strengthens or weakens the bond between two characters. These connections directly affect quality of life. A Zoi with strong friendships and a loving partner has better emotions, recovers needs faster, and generally performs better at work and daily routines. A Zoi with no connections at all risks having their Recognition need bottom out, which can eventually cause them to run away from home permanently.

Building Friendships

There are four relationship types in inZOI: Friendship, Romance, Family, and Business. Each type has its own progress bar with six tiers and fills independently based on the category of interactions. Talking about work fills the Business bar. Flirting fills the Romance bar. A single Zoi can have all four bars active with the same person. Each Zoi can maintain a maximum of 100 total relationships across all types. Relationship removal occurs only through death or natural passage of time.

Several skills directly influence how well a Zoi handles social situations. The Charm skill determines flirting success and the speed at which romantic connections develop. The Rhetoric skill affects first impressions and general conversational flow, making it easier to build early rapport. The Performance skill can also improve persuasion during certain interactions. Investing time in these skills before pursuing deep relationships pays off substantially.

Viewing Relationships

Press [R] or click the Relationship icon (two people shoulder-to-shoulder) in the bottom-right corner to open the relationship panel. This panel lists every Zoi the active character has met, sorted by connection strength, starting with family members. Each entry shows the four relationship bars and a small portrait. Click any entry to see details, including the relationship history, Shared Memories accumulated over time, and a log of key events, thoughts, and feelings. The panel also includes a search function for finding specific Zois.

Hovering over any individual relationship bar reveals the exact progress toward the next breakpoint. This is useful for planning when to trigger a Select Relationship conversation. The panel also displays the current tier name for each bar (for example, "Friend" or "Confidant" for the Friendship track), so there is no need to guess where a relationship stands. If a Zoi has recently died, their entry remains in the panel but is visually dimmed, and the relationship history becomes read-only.

Relationship Types and Tiers

Each relationship type has six tiers spanning from maximally negative to maximally positive. Advancing to a new tier requires a "Select Relationship" conversation at each breakpoint. When a relationship reaches a breakpoint, two tagged conversation options appear (one positive with an upward arrow, one negative with a downward arrow). Choosing the positive option progresses upward; the negative option pushes downward. Progress does not advance automatically past these gates.

You can check how close a relationship is to the next breakpoint by opening the Relationships tab and hovering over the bar. Reaching a breakpoint promptly and choosing the positive option is especially important for Romance relationships, because higher tiers unlock interactions such as kissing, proposals, and marriage. Ignoring a breakpoint does not cause any penalty; the bar simply stays full until you trigger the conversation.

Friendship

Friendship can form between any two Zois regardless of age or household. Friendly conversation, playing together, sharing meals, and attending social events all contribute. This is the easiest relationship type to build because Friendly interactions are available from the first meeting. Even short chitchat sessions add small increments to the bar, so frequent low-effort contact is enough to maintain friendships over time.

Romance

Romantic relationships require both Zois to be at the Adult life stage or older (limited teen romance was added in v0.2.0 with crushes, confessions, and secret admirer events). The Romance bar fills through flirtation, dates, physical affection, and romantic gestures. A minimum Friendship level of roughly 20% is recommended before romantic interactions appear reliably in the action menu. Early on, stick to flirting and compliments rather than physical affection; most Zois prefer an emotional connection first. See the full Romance article for detailed progression steps.

Family

Family bonds form after marriage, through pregnancy and birth, or through household setup in Edit City. When two Zois marry, their Romance relationship converts to a Family relationship, and the level resets to Neutral. You need to rebuild along the Family track from that point forward. This reset catches many players off guard, so plan for some relationship-building time immediately after the wedding. Family bonds are generally the most stable and decay much more slowly than other types.

Business

Business relationships develop through professional interactions: discussing work topics, stocks, and financial subjects. Business relationships are only available between adult Zois; children and teens cannot form them. These relationships tend to be the slowest to build because the relevant conversation options (under the Daily Life and News categories) are less frequent than friendly or romantic ones.

Conversation Categories

When clicking on another Zoi and selecting "More," conversations are organized into eight thematic categories. Each category contributes to different relationship bars and has varying success rates depending on traits, skills, and the current emotional state of both Zois.

As of v0.7.0, conversation outcomes vary based on a Zoi's traits and characteristics. Relationship types also influence a conversation's outcome, so the same joke might land well with a friend but fall flat with a business acquaintance. Traits, characteristics, and emotions can trigger special interactions that previously required high relationship scores, occasionally giving new acquaintances access to deeper conversation options if the mood is right.

Key Conversations

Certain dialogue options are marked with a special key icon. These are key conversations that reveal hidden information about a Zoi's background, personality, or secrets. Successfully completing a key conversation can deepen a relationship significantly and unlock profile information about the Zoi. However, asking personal or probing questions too early, before sufficient trust has been established, can backfire and lower the relationship bar instead. The risk-reward balance makes these conversations most effective once a relationship has reached at least the first positive tier.

Jealousy and Infidelity

Zois can express jealousy, but only under specific circumstances. The most common trigger is marital infidelity: when a married Zoi engages in romantic interactions with someone other than their spouse while the spouse is in the same area.

Married Zois: If a married Zoi catches their partner flirting or being physically affectionate with another Zoi, the spouse reacts automatically. Possible reactions include the Provoke interaction and a dramatic slap. The cheating Zoi becomes Embarrassed, while the betrayed spouse enters an Annoyed or Angry mood. The Family relationship bar between the spouses takes a significant hit, and both Zois become prone to negative autonomous interactions for a period afterward. The betrayed spouse may also send an accusatory text message to the cheater's smartphone.

Romantic Relationships

Unmarried Zois: Single, unmarried Zois are open-minded about romance and do not get jealous. A Zoi can maintain multiple concurrent True Love relationships with different partners, as long as none of them are married. There is no confrontation or penalty for dating multiple people simultaneously before marriage.

It is worth noting that during early access, Zois do not have long-term memory for infidelity events. The negative effects of jealousy are temporary, and a Zoi will recover after some time passes. Relationships can be repaired by carrying out positive interactions once the negative mood fades. This means even severe betrayals can eventually be overcome with consistent effort.

Phone Communication and Contacts

The smartphone plays an increasingly important role in maintaining relationships. Text messages arrive from friends, coworkers, and romantic interests throughout the day. Replying to messages affects the relationship bar positively or negatively depending on the tone of the response. The Messages app also shows work updates and promotional messages from the Pocket Market.

As of v0.7.0, Zois can make and receive phone calls from other Zois. Phone numbers must be obtained by directly asking another Zoi to exchange numbers during a face-to-face conversation. NPCs have the same agency and can independently choose whether to share their number. Once a number is saved, it appears in the Contacts app, where players can also block or delete contacts. Blocked Zois cannot call or text the player's Zoi, but they can send an unblock request. Deleted numbers can be reacquired by asking the Zoi in person again.

The Phone Apps article covers all smartphone features in detail, including the Contacts app, the Messages inbox, and the Pocket Market.

Recognition Need

Recognition is one of four mental needs alongside Fun, Social, and Energy. It represents "the need for a Zoi to be recognized and acknowledged by Zois around them through accomplishments and success." Recognition is fulfilled by accomplishing tasks at work or school and conversing about accomplishments with other Zois.

When Recognition remains critically low for a prolonged period, the Zoi runs away from home and never returns, permanently vacating their spot in the family. This is classified as a "death by lack of recognition" but functions as a disappearance rather than a traditional death. No death notification appears. High karma makes Recognition easier to maintain, while terrible karma causes other Zois to refuse acknowledgment. Building strong relationships is one of the best defenses against low Recognition, because friends and family members will acknowledge a Zoi's accomplishments more frequently during conversation.

Social Events

Social events are planned through the smartphone's Events app and are a powerful way to build multiple relationships at once. Hosting or attending a well-organized event can raise relationship bars with every guest simultaneously.

Event participants automatically receive door access permissions to the venue. Party-goers can be called over using party-specific interactions. If invited guests send late RSVPs, the event may be cancelled, so it is best to plan events well in advance and confirm attendance early.

Seasonal Festivals

The v0.7.0 update introduced a 28-day month calendar that tracks holidays, birthdays, and pregnancy due dates. Three seasonal festivals rotate throughout the year:

• Spring Festival: A celebration of renewal. Themed decorations and social interactions become available.

• Halloween Festival: Spooky themed event with unique costume interactions and social activities.

• Winter and Year-End Festival: A holiday celebration marking the end of the year with gift exchanges and festive gatherings.

Festivals are prime opportunities to build relationships, because the themed interactions are fresh and tend to have higher success rates than routine conversation options.

Call Over

The Call Over feature lets you summon a known Zoi to your current location. Access it through the Relationship menu (press R), click the Call Over button, and select the Zoi. They physically travel (sprint) to your location, and a notification confirms arrival.

• Requires an existing relationship of sufficient level; you cannot call someone you just met once.

• Zois can decline if they dislike you or are busy with scheduled activities.

• Cannot call Zois who are asleep.

• No teleportation; the Zoi must physically run to your location.

• Cancelable at any time using the "Cancel Gathering" button.

• Useful for quickly arranging one-on-one hangouts without traveling across the city.

Gift-Giving

Gifts are sent through the Contacts app on the smartphone. Open Contacts, select the recipient, and choose a gift. The gift arrives at the recipient's home as a physical parcel with a text notification. Giving gifts raises the relationship bar and counts as a good karma action.

• Gift effectiveness varies based on the recipient's personality and preferences. A Zoi with artistic interests responds better to creative gifts, while a practical Zoi prefers functional items.

• Gift-giving requires at least the first positive tier of any relationship type (for example, Friend level in Friendship).

• Available gift options change as the relationship deepens. Higher tiers unlock more expensive and impactful gift choices.

• There is no in-person gift-giving interaction; everything goes through the phone. This means gifts can be sent to Zois across the city without needing to visit them.

• Sending gifts regularly is one of the most reliable ways to prevent relationship decay with Zois who live far away, since it does not require face-to-face contact.

Shared Memories and Milestones

Shared Memories record the milestones of a relationship. These appear in the relationship detail view and include events like first meetings, confessions of love, breakups, divorces, engagements, marriages, and betrayals. Players can scroll through the timeline to see a complete history between two Zois. Shared Memories are permanent. Even after a breakup, the memory of the confession and the breakup both remain on the record.

The v0.7.0 update expanded this system with a comprehensive Memory System that records significant life events across a Zoi's entire lifespan, from taking their first steps to graduating university to having their own child. A dedicated UI notification appears whenever a new memory is created or a milestone is achieved. The Milestones system specifically tracks important life moments such as first conversations, first dates, engagements, and major career events. These milestones can unlock additional interactions; for example, a positive shared memory with a Zoi may open up new conversation topics referencing that event.

Relationship Skills

Three skills have a direct impact on relationship-building speed and interaction success rates:

When creating a Zoi specifically for romance, choosing the Charmer trait and the Life of Romance ambition significantly accelerates early relationship progress. These choices stack with skill levels, so a Charmer Zoi with maxed Rhetoric and Charm can breeze through the early breakpoints that normally take several in-game days.

Trait Compatibility

Traits affect how quickly relationships grow. Some pairings have natural chemistry, while incompatible pairings find conversation awkward and progress slower. Trait compatibility does not block any relationship type outright; it only adjusts the speed and success rate of interactions.

As of v0.7.0, traits and characteristics also determine which autonomous interactions a Zoi performs. A Socialite Zoi will autonomously initiate conversations more often, while an Individualist Zoi will prefer solitary activities. Speech boxes now appear above Zois during autonomous interactions, explaining the cause of their behavior (for example, "Feeling chatty because of Socialite trait").

City Status Sliders

Players can adjust the pace and difficulty of relationship building through the City Status settings. Navigate to the City Map, select Manage City, then Control City Status. Four relationship sliders appear, one for each relationship type:

Each slider offers nine levels: Lowest, Very Low, Low, Slightly Low, Medium, Slightly High, High, Very High, and Highest. The default is Medium. Setting a slider higher makes interactions succeed more often and fill the bar faster, while setting it lower makes relationships harder to build. Changes are applied gradually rather than instantly. This system is useful for players who want a more relaxed social experience or a greater challenge.

Relationship Decay

Relationships that are ignored will gradually decay over time. If a Zoi stops contacting a friend for an extended period, the Friendship bar slowly drops. The same applies to Romance, though Family bonds are more resilient and decay much more slowly. Business relationships also decay, but the rate is moderate.

Regular contact through visits, phone calls, texts, or social events prevents decay. Even a single text message or gift sent through the smartphone is enough to reset the decay timer for a relationship. The most efficient maintenance strategy is to send a gift or text to distant friends every few in-game days, while relying on face-to-face interaction for relationships that matter most. Decay never drops a relationship below its current tier boundary; once a Zoi reaches BFF, for example, the bar can drop within the BFF range but will not fall to Confidant without a negative breakpoint event.

Engagement and Marriage Transition

Once two Zois reach the True Love tier on their Romance bar, the "Ask Them to Marry You" interaction becomes available. This triggers a proposal; if accepted, the pair becomes engaged. Engagement has no deadline, and the engagement can be called off at any time without a severe penalty beyond a drop in the Romance bar.

To plan a wedding, access the smartphone schedule and set a date, duration, and venue. The initiating Zoi fills available guest and officiant slots with their friends and family. Players can customize the outdoor wedding lot with decorations beforehand. On the wedding day, attendees gather at the venue for the ceremony. After the ceremony, the couple is officially married, and an option to move houses and divide assets appears. Newlyweds are required to live in the same house.

Romantic Relationships

Upon marriage, the Romance bar converts to a Family bar and resets to the neutral Distant tier. This means the couple must rebuild their bond along the Family track. Immediately after the wedding, prioritize Family-building interactions (sharing meals, spending time at home together, discussing family topics) to push the bar up to Affectionate and then Close as quickly as possible. Letting the Family bar languish at Distant can lead to quarrels and, eventually, divorce. See Marriage and Wedding for the complete guide.

Divorce Mechanics

A marriage can deteriorate through sustained negative interactions, arguments, neglect, or relationship-damaging actions like rumor spreading, crime, or romantic betrayal. When the Family bar between spouses drops low enough, the option to divorce becomes available. To initiate a divorce, open the conversation menu with the spouse, select Conflict, and choose Divorce.

Divorce does not always succeed on the first attempt. The partner Zoi may reject the offer, in which case the Family bar drops further and you must wait before trying again. When divorce is finalized, a pop-up notification appears. One spouse typically remains in the current home while the other needs to find new housing. Shared Meow (the in-game currency) is divided, and each Zoi retains their personal inventory and career status. Both Zois receive a Sad emotion lasting approximately two in-game days (+5 sadness), and the event is permanently recorded in their Shared Memories.

Children and Relationships

Different life stages have different relationship restrictions. As Zois age, they gain access to more relationship types and interactions. The v0.7.0 update added new urges for newborns, toddlers, and children that create fresh parenting scenarios and occasional parent-child conflicts.

Autonomy (Free Will)

The Free Will toggle (press T or use the UI toggle with the cat's eye symbol) controls whether a Zoi acts on their own. With Free Will on (white/open eye), Zois make autonomous decisions about interactions. With Free Will off (orange/closed eye), they only act on player commands.

Autonomous relationship building has been limited in early access builds. When two Zois interact autonomously, conversations typically last only a few seconds before they move on. Without player intervention, there is almost zero chance to form meaningful bonds. However, NPCs can still initiate some interactions with the player's Zoi, including sending text messages and starting conversations. Zois will autonomously chat with neighbors, invite friends over, and even develop crushes without player input. They can also autonomously break up or damage business connections based on negative interactions.

Autonomous Behavior

The v0.7.0 update significantly improved autonomy. Traits and characteristics now determine which autonomous interactions a Zoi performs. Speech boxes appear above Zois explaining the cause of each autonomous interaction, making behavior more transparent. Every 30 minutes of in-game time, ongoing interactions are interrupted if any of the Zoi's needs drop below 30%. This keeps that Zois prioritize survival over socializing when necessary. Player-initiated interactions automatically override any ongoing autonomous interaction, so there is no need to wait for a Zoi to finish chatting before issuing a command.

Relationship-Related Ambitions

Several Ambitions focus on building relationships. Completing these grants significant rewards and contributes to a Zoi's overall life satisfaction:

Relationship Emotions

Relationships trigger specific emotions that affect gameplay and skill development:

When a Zoi dies, all Zois who had any kind of relationship with the deceased receive an obituary message (added in v0.5.0). This triggers a Sad emotion, and the name of the deceased Zoi appears in the emotion's description.

Tips for Building Relationships

1. Invest in Rhetoric early. Practicing speeches in front of a mirror costs no money and dramatically improves first-impression success rates. A few in-game hours of mirror practice before socializing makes a noticeable difference.

2. Use the Affection and ChitChat categories for fast Friendship. These two categories are available from the first interaction and have high base success rates. Rotating between them avoids the "already discussed" cooldown.

3. Build Friendship before Romance. Romantic options appear reliably only after the Friendship bar reaches roughly 20%. Jumping straight to flirting with a stranger has a high failure rate.

4. Attend and host social events. A single party can raise Friendship bars with every guest simultaneously. Dates with activity checklists give bonus Romance progress.

5. Send gifts to prevent decay. Gifts through the Contacts app reset the decay timer and require no face-to-face meeting. This is the most efficient way to maintain long-distance relationships.

6. Watch for Select Relationship prompts. When a breakpoint is reached, trigger the conversation and choose the positive option immediately. Ignoring it does not cause a penalty, but it stalls progress.

7. Choose complementary traits. A Charmer Zoi paired with a Socialite Zoi will build relationships rapidly in both directions. Avoid pairing two Individualists if social gameplay is a priority.

8. Adjust City Status sliders if needed. If relationships are progressing too slowly (or too quickly), adjust the relevant slider under Manage City to change interaction success rates.

9. Maintain the Family bar after marriage. The Romance-to-Family reset catches many players off guard. Immediately invest in Family interactions after the wedding to avoid an early crisis.

10. Use the calendar to plan. Birthdays and seasonal festivals are ideal times to host parties and strengthen multiple relationships at once.

Cheat Codes

The following cheats can be used to manipulate relationships directly. Open the cheat console and enter the command:

Patch History