For those who still may not be familiar with BitLife, this is a life simulator game from Candywriter that allows you to create a virtual character, or Bitizen, and have them live their best…or worst lives. Whether your character is in school, at work, or living out their golden years in retirement, you can make all sorts of decisions for your character, may they be good ones or bad ones.
And you will want to make good and bad decisions alike if you’re trying to collect one of the game’s dozens of ribbons (corresponding to a certain type of life lived), as well as try out the growing number of careers that are available in the in-game world.
Unlike most of the game’s recent updates, version 1.39 does not come with any alternate name, as it is more of a general update that does not have a specific theme. There are, however, several new features that have been added, with a couple existing ones that have been completely revised and reimagined.
Much of these new additions have something to do with family and friend interactions, but there are also a few that will come into play in terms of education and employment, and also in the world of crime. Those are just the teasers, so if you’re ready, join us as we present our newest BitLife guide and break down everything you need to know about the version 1.39 update.
Your Loved Ones Now Can Get Sick
In earlier versions of BitLife, it was only your character that could get sick and go to the doctor — there was no information on the health of your friends and family, and the only time you’d know if they were suffering from any life-threatening disease is when they would die and you see their cause of death. With version 1.39, these NPCs now can get sick as well, and you now have the option to take them to the hospital and have them see a doctor so you can get certain loved ones back to health.
When we say certain loved ones, though, take note that we are referring to your children and parents. You will see your siblings, nephews, nieces, and friends get sick from time to time once you hit the Age button, though you will only see the option to take a loved one to the doctor with your kids and parents.
There are a few things that you should keep in mind, however, when it comes to dealing with sick relatives. First of all, you will not be automatically be taken to another window where you can choose doctors. You will, instead, need to manually tap on the sick relative in the Relationships menu and choose the Doctor option from there.
You will also need to do it quick! During one test playthrough, our character’s daughter died even if her whooping cough was cured with a doctor’s visit — the thing here is that she was taken to the doctor two years after being diagnosed.
Then again, there are also instances in which relatives’ conditions go away automatically even if you don’t take them to the doctor right away. We’re not sure if this will be fixed or patched in a later update, but just to reiterate, make sure to take your sick children or parents to the doctor ASAP if you see a window telling you they’re sick!
God Mode Exclusive – You Can Switch Control To Any Child At Any Point In Your Life
Now this next feature appears to be an exclusive for players who have purchased the God Mode add-on in BitLife. This add-on, as regular players should know, allows you to choose your stats before starting a new life, as well as edit the stats of several NPCs, may they be family members, friends, classmates, or coworkers. Now, it’s gotten a new feature, and that is the ability to switch control from your present character to that of any of your children.
According to Candywriter, this is designed to help you “build better legacies,” and if you come to think about it, it makes sense — all too often, we’ve seen our characters live to a ripe old age, to the point where their children are also old men or women with very little else to do in the in-game world. This could be an especially glaring issue if the child you’ve entrusted your entire fortune to in your will doesn’t have kids of their own and is too old to have kids!
In order to switch to your child’s life, simply go to Relationships and tap on the name of any of your children — you will then be asked if you wish to switch to their life or continue on with yours. When you make the decision to switch, there is no turning back — that means once you’re controlling your child, you cannot switch back to your previous life if, for instance, you’ve had them get married and/or have children in order to ensure that the legacy continues.
But the good thing here is that you no longer have to give them 100 percent of your fortune through the Will and Testament feature and risk the wrath of your spouse or one of your other children. Automatically, that child whom you’ll be controlling will get your entire fortune — that’s whatever is in the bank minus taxes, as well as any properties you may have, assuming that the character taking over is of legal age. (Otherwise, cars, houses, and the like get auctioned off as usual.)
One catch here is that when your previous character dies, their tombstone will not be included in the Cemetery, and you will not qualify for any ribbons they might have qualified for — as such, those chasing after certain ribbons will want to control their character from birth to death and not switch to their offspring’s life. Still, this sounds like a good reason to purchase God Mode for a minimal one-time-only fee, on top of all the customization you were previously able to do.
What To Expect From The Revamped Arrest System
Thanks to version 1.39, getting arrested for a crime is no longer a cut-and-dry affair. In the real world, people who get apprehended by the cops for one offense or another don’t automatically end up in the back of a police car before facing a judge and getting tried. Of course, it’s all in the realm of possibility that a suspect may flee the scene of a crime, or perhaps try to grease those palms by offering a bribe.
And naturally, it’s possible for suspects to try to flirt with the arresting officer, in hopes that one’s sex appeal would convince the long arm of the law to let this one pass. Those options are now all available in the new version of BitLife.
With the new update, you will have multiple options to choose from if you get arrested for any criminal offense, with some exceptions that will be detailed below. The most reasonable and safe option would be to surrender and cooperate with the authorities once caught. This choice will always be available, and based on what we’ve seen, you will always have a chance to make a run for it and hope you can successfully avoid getting arrested.
This is where the Professionalism bar will come in, as seen at the top part of the dialog box for arrests. If the bar is red or orange, we’re talking Chief Wiggum or Reno 911-level law enforcement — cops who, ideally, couldn’t even catch a cold. That means your chances of avoiding arrest would be higher if you try escaping a cop with low Professionalism. Otherwise, if the bar is green, these are honest, hardworking officers who are good at their job — it is definitely not advisable to run in such a situation!
The two other choices you may get in the arrest dialog box may vary from time to time, but these include bribing the officer — again, your chances of a successful bribe will depend on the cop’s Professionalism, so this is something best attempted when the Professionalism bar is red or orange. You will notice that there is a slider that allows you to choose how much money you wish to offer as your bribe — larger amounts mean a better chance of getting away with the crime.
You can also insult the cop, though this definitely won’t save you from getting arrested — instead, they may throw another childish insult your way, or worse, beat you up if their Professionalism is especially low! Something similar applies if you try flirting with the cop — low Professionalism could result in a beating, but could also mean you’re getting away scot-free, while high Professionalism means there’s no way they’re taking your bait.
Although the arrest system has been updated in version 1.39, the dialog box still won’t appear if you’re an underaged offender — you will automatically be sent to juvie for any crimes you’re caught committing before you turn 18. That, too, would be the case if you’re facing a life sentence or death penalty for multiple murders.
Paternity Tests – A New Downside To Hooking Up
If you’re trying to get that Lustful ribbon or simply trying to make your character into the ultimate player, there’s a new wrinkle that you’ll need to deal with, and one that might force you to think twice before using the Hook Up option or hooking up with a random stranger at the club.
Prior to the new update, not being careful while hooking up simply meant a greater chance of getting someone pregnant or becoming pregnant, and a greater chance of contracting a sexually transmitted disease. With version 1.39, male Bitizens may now be asked to take a paternity test when a previous hookup has a child!
As we’ve observed, the chances of being asked to take a paternity test increase if you, as a male Bitizen, had a child with the woman you hooked up with. But the main thing in play here is that you need to have hooked up with that woman, and she will need to have a child a few years down the line in order to request that you get that paternity test. And once you see the dialog box informing you that she’s asking you to take the test, you’ll have four choices — you can ghost her, agree to take the test, accept responsibility, or refuse to take the test.
The simplest — albeit impractical — choice among these choices would be to ghost your baby mama. Nothing will happen at first when you choose this option, though at some point, she may start bugging you once again to take the test. If you outright refuse to take the test, that might not be too wise either, as the most likely outcome would be a court-ordered paternity test — refusing to take one will result in you getting arrested for contempt of court, and that will, of course, bring up the new arrest dialog box we discussed in the earlier tip.
Agreeing to take the test, may it be court-ordered or not, will have two outcomes — either you’re the daddy or not. If it’s found that you’re the father of your fling’s child, they will automatically be added to your list of children in the Relationships menu. That will also be the outcome if you choose the Accept Responsibility option. Either way, this will usually mean trouble with your partner at the time, so be very careful if you choose to fool around on your significant other in the BitLife universe!
New College Majors And Careers Have Been Added
Ever felt limited by the choices your characters had for their college education? Have you ever wished for your Bitizen to take the same college course that you did, only to discover that it wasn’t among the available options in the game? That happens to be one of the many changes that have arrived on version 1.39, as BitLife now comes with 13 new college majors — Accounting, Anthropology, Archaeology, Architecture, Communications, Criminal Justice, Economics, Graphics Design, Journalism, Marketing, Philosophy, Physics, and Religious Studies.
You will notice that many of these courses are connected to specific careers that are available on the Jobs tab, which means you may now need to take a Journalism course if you want to be a Writer or a Reporter, or take Criminal Justice if working as a police detective appeals to you.
As you can see, this ideally means less head-scratching career choices, especially for NPC relatives and friends who, in previous versions, would often find work as Dishwashers or Janitors after finishing graduate school or a college course that ideally should point to lots of better job opportunities.
In addition to the new college majors, Candywriter has added several new careers to the game — ten of them to be specific, namely Baker, Blacksmith, Carpenter, Casino Worker, Fashion Designer, Horse Jockey, Jeweler, Nail Technician, Private Investigator, and Wedding Planner.
Looking at the newly added courses, Criminal Justice should be a relevant course for would-be P.I.’s, while Fashion Designer and Wedding Planner may tie in nicely with some of the previously available majors in the game. All things considered, this means more variety and more collectible stuff for those players who want to add to their in-game achievements with each and every new playthrough of the game.
Other New Features Available In BitLife Version 1.39
Moving on to the miscellaneous features added and other changes on version 1.39, the first one mentioned on the change log is the option to for unmarried couples to elope. This is a great way to avoid a number of various concerns in in-game relationships — disapproving parents, having to buy an engagement ring to propose, having to plan the wedding, and the possibility of having to sign a prenuptial agreement.
Successfully eloping with your partner (which requires both of you to be at least 18 years old) eliminates all this, but we’ve noticed that it’s very, very hard to convince partners to elope — it’s oftentimes not enough to simply make sure that your Relationship bar is full! Those with God Mode can try reducing their partner’s Willpower stat in order to improve the chances of successfully eloping, but this isn’t guaranteed either to work. Just a note for those planning to elope — as there are no prenups involved, expect to lose money in the event you and your spouse get divorced!
A few updates ago, Candywriter added the option to accessorize, starting all BitLife players out with a pair of shades and one hat and announcing that additional headwear and eyewear can be unlocked by completing challenges. With version 1.39, it’s not just your character who could wear the hat or eyewear of their choice, as friends and family members will also be able to accessorize at random once they reach certain age. We’ve observed that there are too many friend/relative NPCs accessorizing in the game, though this is something that might be tweaked in subsequent updates.
The change log also notes that players should expect “even more craziness” — so far, we’ve seen this manifest through friends with high Craziness stats popping up more often to ask for advice, play pranks, or make invites to threesomes, among other “crazy” activities and quirks. You may also see more shenanigans from partners who have a high Craziness stat — that means you should expect more cheating, more expensive purchases behind your back, and more scenarios that highlight your friends and partners’ “crazy” behavior!
In addition to the aforementioned new features, players will once again see the tombstone as the very first thing once their characters die, with options at the bottom part to move forward and start a new life (or have one of your children take over) or undo the death through the $1-per-use Time Machine. New players will also be talked through the basics of BitLife through an “onboarding flow,” or brief tutorial, while everyone will get to see the change logs each time the game gets a new update after starting it up for the first time post-update.
Lastly, at least among the named features, you will see a Back button on the bottom right part of your character’s logs (right above your character’s stats) that allows you to go back to the previous menu you had viewed.