Beyond the Score: What Should a Steam User Care About?

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Key Takeaways

• Steam Levels can unlock more friend slots and Showcase slots on your account, allowing you to personalize your profile.
• Whether Steam Levels are worth it depends on how much you value showcasing your profile and adding friends.
• If you don’t plan on adding many friends or customizing your profile, don’t worry about investing too much in leveling up.

You may have noticed that the more you use Steam, the higher your Steam Level gets. It may seem like a superficial thing at first, but leveling up your account can score you some neat benefits. So, is it worth focusing on leveling up your Steam Level?

What Are Steam Levels?

Steam Levels are a number on your profile that you can level up by crafting badges or purchasing games. We covered the topic in more detail in our guide onhow to increase your Steam Level .

What Do Steam Levels Get You?

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Steam Levels aren’t just a fancy number. As you earn more levels, you unlock more benefits for your account.

According toSteam Support , for every five levels you earn, you unlock another five friend slots on your account. Valve is already pretty generous, giving you 250 friend slots when you make an account. However, leveling up your account can increase that limit to 2,000 friends.

For every 10 levels you earn, you also unlock a Showcase slot. This allows you to show off something on your personal Steam account page, such as how many games you own, how many badges you have, or your rarest achievements.

You can unlock up to 20 different showcases via leveling up. You can read more about Showcases in our guide onhow to customize the design of your Steam profile .

Are Steam Levels Worth It?

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Deciding whether Steam Levels are worth the effort comes down to what you want from your Steam profile. Remember, leveling your Steam Level requires some effort and financial input on your part, whether you’re buying Steam games or crafting badges.

For some people, Steam Levels are worth it. There are people who take great pride in their profile and having extra Showcase slots lets them flaunt what they do best. Plus, the Steam Level itself is a good thing to show off; people notice when someone has a super-high level, andSteam Ladder has a level leaderboard to show off the best.

However, if you don’t plan on adding over 250 friends and you don’t care about your profile showcases, you shouldn’t worry about leveling up your Steam Level. It can feel nice to increase your level and earn more badges, but it’s not something you should feel you need to invest a ton of time and money into.

Steam Levels do have their benefits; they’re great for people who want to add a ton of friends, and they’re amazing for those who want to show off their profile to others. For everyone else, it’s best to keep your Steam Level as a novelty that naturally grows as you use the platform.