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How long does it take to level up a Steam account
The real time cost of raising a Steam level by playing versus by buying ready sets, and why the gap is so large.
By playing: measured in games, not hours
Cards drop roughly once every thirty minutes of play, capped at half a set per game. Reaching a meaningful level this way means finishing half the card drops of dozens of games, which in practice is measured in months of varied play, not a single session.
By buying ready sets: measured in minutes
A trade offer with a full set arrives as one delivery. Crafting it takes seconds per game. The time cost of this path is almost entirely the time it takes to click Craft Badge on each game in turn.
Where the time actually goes on a big jump
Large jumps arrive in rounds rather than one trade, because a badge tops out at five sets per game and a single Steam trade has its own item limit. Each round still only needs crafting, not more playtime; the wait between rounds is the trade offer being sent and accepted, not anything slower than that.
Sources
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