Advanced Badge and Trading Card Guide

[takanuva5x]

Alright, before we start, this guide is assuming you've already read the Steam Trading Card FAQ. If not, Look here. So, great, now you know all the basics of Steam Trading cards- collect all the cards in a set, make a badge and bam you get some cool stuff (often things you can sell). Here's an in depth guide based on observation and experimentation.

1. Do you want to level up your Steam Level? If the answer to this is yes, DON'T make any Foil Badges (unless you really like a game and want to support it!) Now, why don't you want to make Foil Badges when they're supposed to be rarer? Here's why- they are not worth the money if you are simply levelling up your Steam Level, because each one costs (approximately) the same amount you would spend to get a level 5 (sometimes only 4 depending on the game) badge, which is worth 500xp, whereas the foil badge is a mere 100. Now that you know this, what do you do with it? Make yourself a level 5 badge instead of that shiny looking "rare" card. I say this, however, don't completely disregard the Foil Badge just yet, for now we delve into the next section- coupons.

2. You may have noticed that almost every time you create a badge, Foil or Regular, that you get a coupon for a game (a completely random game, might I add). When you're making a badge to get some nice discounts, Foil is the way to go. The foil badge often gives better coupons to well known games (I myself got Portal 2 and Left 4 Dead 2 with some very nice discounts from Foil Badges) and bigger discounts in general (ranging from about 50-90% compared to a regular badge's 10%-90% off). Now, the last big question- How much are a level 5 Regular Badge and a Foil Badge going to cost me?

3. Be prepared to spend about 5 USD on a single Foil or Level 5 badge each time you want to level up. This ain't a cheap show we're running here, you know. Now I say 5 USD, but that is merely the average I pieced together- Slender- The Arrival's Foil Badge would actually cost about 7 USD, and the TF2 Regular level 5 badge is only going to cost about 4.50 (based on math, I have not crafted the TF2 badge to level 5 (or level 1, for that matter)).

So, there you have a slightly more in depth guide to Badge Crafting. A quick summary- if you are increasing your Steam Level, make regular badges. If you are making badges to get a discount on that game you want, do Foil. Lastly, have 5 dollars ready for a level 5 badge. If people like this guide (which I hope) I will post an extended guide on booster packs.

[Cas]

Understanding Trading card system

[Hydra_360ci]

Also, you can forget about ever grabbing a 4cent card on the market. Bots are rampant on the steam market for any card under 5 cents.

[『 』]

Yea bots steal most low cost cards.. but ive beat them to the punch a few times... and 1 time it beat me by about a milisecond so i lost my money and didnt get the item which valve didnt refund (though 3 cent doesnt matter i guess haha) though its happened on more expensive items as well with no refund... just be quick and cautious on what is being bought, sometimes getting 1 penny higher is worth it because then you know valve doesnt glitch your cash away....