Valve is finally giving completionists a break. A new Steam Client beta feature called Achievement Sets lets developers group a game’s trophies into collections, so a DLC drop or seasonal event no longer has to wipe out a hard-earned 100 percent, according to Steam’s own announcement and Engadget.
“Games today live longer than ever, continuing to receive updates through new DLC, expansions, and seasons,” Valve wrote. “But achievements added with new game content can be hard to discover and can accidentally break the completion status of players who have already finished the game.”
How sets work
Developers decide how many sets a game needs and what each one is for. One title might split single-player and multiplayer; another might carve out a set per class. You still unlock achievements by playing as usual. When you browse afterward, Steam breaks the long list into those sets, each with its own progress bar.
Finish every achievement in a set and Steam adds a “set complete” trophy to your profile. If the developer later adds more achievements to that set, your completion is preserved. New content can get its own set so returning players can see what is new without losing what they already finished.
Base game blue, DLC purple
Valve defines two types. Base Game Achievement Sets cover trophies every owner can earn and show in blue. DLC Achievement Sets group trophies that need paid content and show in purple. Those DLC sets do not count against your overall game progress until you own the content, which is the change completionists have wanted for years.
The achievements page itself has been redesigned for the feature, and Engadget notes you can compare progress with up to three friends. Support has to be added per game, but Valve says a growing list already works in the beta, with outlets highlighting Portal 2 as an early example.
The Achievement Sets beta lands in the same stretch of Steam client work that recently brought Big Picture’s Big Art Mode and screensavers, which RCG covered in Steam’s Big Picture Mode Adds Big Art Mode and Screensavers. Opt into the Steam Beta Update channel to try it.
