Can BitLife be any more perfect than it is right now? When it debuted late in 2018, it was already a full-featured life simulator game. But thanks to several updates that have rolled out since then, Candywriter has helped make it a much more realistic and complete experience that covers various facets of a person’s life. And while things are far quieter now in terms of new features, the company is still keeping players as busy as ever with their weekly challenges, including the newly launched Freedom Challenge.
Given that we have just celebrated America’s independence, it’s not at all surprising that Candywriter’s latest BitLife challenge is all about the Fourth of July and defending one’s country. The Freedom Challenge is now live, and in here, you’ll need to serve in the U.S. military and take part in a number of dangerous missions (you should probably know what they are by now).
That sounds quite straight-to-the-point and simple, but fair warning — there may be some parts of the challenge that are harder to complete than you think. And that’s why we’re sharing yet another BitLife mini-strategy guide as we walk you through the Freedom Challenge and show you how to complete it sooner rather than later.
Getting Started – Attend College, Don’t Make New Friends
The BitLife Freedom Challenge may sound easy at first, but there are some parts where it could get tricky. Before we get to those parts, though, the good news is that there are no specific statistical requirements for your new character in this challenge. They can be male or female, but the main thing is that they need to be born in the United States — this is, after all, Candywriter’s way of celebrating the Fourth of July.
Typically, you’ll get quite a few offers from child NPCs asking you if you want to be friends with them — on most occasions, you’ll want to say yes and subscribe to the “no man is an island” line of thinking. But for the purposes of this challenge, it’s best to stay aloof and avoid making new friends. We’ll discuss why this is advisable in the next tip in this guide.
You should also keep your nose clean in school and keep your grades as high as possible by studying hard, as you’ll need to attend college and get a degree in order to instantly get into the military as an officer. As the game specifies, you don’t need to choose a particular branch of the U.S. military, just as long as you enlist as an officer and eventually get promoted to General (for most branches) or Admiral (for the Navy).
Fewer (Or No) Friends, More Chances To Sweep Those Mines
Back in the day, it was much easier to get deployed on a mine-sweeping mission in BitLife. But at some point during the slew of major updates that rolled out last year, these missions became rarer and farther in between, perhaps because of how dangerous they are and how you could end up maimed — or even killed — if you end up stepping on a mine.
And we’ve noticed they are especially rare if you have several friends. Instead of hitting the Age button and getting a deployment scenario, you will likely get scenarios involving your friends borrowing your personal belongings and returning them in poor condition, asking your opinion on a certain matter, or inviting you to have some “fun” with their partner, among others. We’ve also noticed an increase in miscellaneous military-related scenarios, such as those where you need to break up a fight between two soldiers or suggest a new feature for a military-themed video game.
So with that in mind, it’s best to only make friends (or get married/find a partner and have kids, for that matter) once you’ve completed your three mine-sweeping missions as part of the Freedom Challenge. Harsh as it sounds, you don’t need friends (and sometimes, family) getting in the way of those deployment scenarios.
And as far as your missions are concerned, there’s nothing new to report here — it’s the same old take on Minesweeper, and if you get injured after stepping on the mine, simply exit out of the game before confirming the outcome, then restart it. Fortunately, our test character never got killed while playing this mini-game, but in the off-chance that it happens, you may have no option but to restart your life from square one — or use the Time Machine, if you don’t mind spending a dollar to undo an in-game death.
Any Kind Of General Or Admiral Will Do
Now that we’ve gotten the deployments out of the way, let’s talk about the final two requirements, starting with the one where you need to reach the rank of General or Admiral. Fortunately, Candywriter hasn’t nerfed the military career tracks in any noticeable way, which means you can still race through the ranks and become some sort of General or Admiral by the time you reach your mid-late 40s, assuming you joined the military straight out of college.
Take note we said any kind of General or Admiral, which means you don’t necessary need to reach the highest rank as part of this requirement. So if you’re in the Army, for instance, you only need to get promoted to Brigadier General (the lowest-ranked General) in order to tick this box.
Keep Serving In The Military Until You Can’t Serve Anymore
This may also sound like a tricky requirement with a hidden catch, but if you come to think of it, it’s pretty straightforward. We can understand why you may feel this way, as we misunderstood the requirement at first, accepting the first offer to retire from the military while our test character was still in his early 50s. That wouldn’t fulfill it, as the game states that you should “serve until you’re forced to retire,” the operative word being “forced.” So if you’re simply being offered a chance to retire, it’s not the same thing as having no choice but to retire.
By the time you reach the age of 62, that’s when you will get a notification that you have reached the “mandatory retirement age,” with your age, years served, highest rank, number of promotions, and retirement pay listed below.
At that point, there’s no other option but to hit the green “Retire from the [military branch]” button, and once you do that, that should do it for BitLife’s Freedom Challenge. You know the drill by now — open the prize chest and get new eyewear or headwear for your characters or the NPCs to wear!