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How to craft Steam badges, step by step
The actual crafting steps in Steam, what a badge needs, and why crafting is the only thing that turns cards into a level.
What crafting needs
One complete set of a game's trading cards, sitting in inventory, and nothing else. Steam will not let a badge be crafted from a partial set, and cards already used in a badge cannot be reused for another.
Where to do it
From a Steam profile, the Badges page lists every game with a craftable set and a Craft Badge button next to it. Steam shows the set automatically once all the cards for it are held.
Why it has to be done manually
Nobody, including the bots that deliver the cards, can craft a badge on another account's behalf. Steam requires the badge to be crafted by the account that holds the cards, which is also why receiving cards and gaining the level are two separate steps.
Cards left uncrafted do nothing for a level. The XP only exists once the badge itself is made.
Normal badge versus foil badge
A normal badge can be crafted up to five times per game, each craft giving XP, before that game stops contributing further. A foil badge is a separate, single craft made from the foil version of the same cards, worth more XP per craft but needing the rarer foil set.
Sources
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