Editorial Policy

Every number is traceable

A figure appears on this site only if it can be reproduced from one of three places: Valve's own documentation (Steam Support, the Trading Cards FAQ, the Points Shop FAQ), a dated measurement we made ourselves, or a named third-party source linked at the bottom of the article. The XP curve on every page is computed from one formula in code, so the calculator, tables and guides cannot disagree with each other.

Market figures are dated

Card prices drift. The price distribution we cite (median $0.75 per set, 63.7% of sets under $1) comes from a steam.tools/cards export of 13,841 complete sets taken on 2026-09-13. Every use carries that date. We prefer the median to the mean and say which, because the mean ($2.49) is skewed by a handful of very expensive sets.

Valve's mechanics are hedged

Valve changes limits without notice. Where we quote a cap (friend slots, showcases, badge craft limits) we quote the commonly cited figure and the date we last read Valve's page. If you find a discrepancy, tell us and we will re-verify and update the article's change log.

First-hand experience is marked

Articles include a "How we know" note and screenshots from accounts we control when a claim rests on something we did rather than something we read. Screenshots carry the date they were captured. Stock imagery is not used for hero images.

Commercial disclosure

This site is run by the team behind SteamLevelForge. Links to Forge are labelled as such and are ordinary followed links, not affiliate links. Comparison pages list Forge first and say so, state the date prices were checked, and do not rank services by a score we invented. We do not publish reviews, ratings or testimonials that we cannot verify, and we do not mark up any as structured data.

Updates

Each guide shows its publish date, last update and the date its figures were last verified. Material changes are listed in the article's update history. Guides are re-verified at least every 90 days, and market figures are refreshed when a new snapshot is taken.

Corrections

Use our contact form and include the page and the claim. Corrections are made in the article and noted in its update history.