Steam Achievement Sets Stop DLC Ruining Your 100 Percent Record
Steam Achievement Sets are now live in the Steam Client beta, and they solve one of the most frustrating problems completionists have faced for years. The feature groups different categories of achievements together and separates base game achievements from DLC achievements. Because of this, new additions from developers no longer affect your completion percentage.
For anyone who has chased a perfect profile, this is a significant change. In the past, a single DLC drop could instantly push a 100 percent game down to a lower score, even if you had finished everything the base game offered. Steam Achievement Sets address that problem directly.
How Steam Achievement Sets Work
Developers must update their games to add specific collections, each one with a defined purpose. The platform says a growing number of games already support the feature. Developers can group achievements in flexible ways, including:
Single-player and multiplayer achievements in separate sets
Seasonal sets, such as one for a Halloween event
Base game achievements kept apart from DLC achievements
When you browse everything you have unlocked on your profile, you will see achievements grouped together in these collections. Each set has its own progress bar that shows how far along you are in completing it. Every time you earn every single achievement in a collection, you can display a “set complete” trophy on your profile.
Most importantly, your progress will still show 100 percent even if the developer adds more achievements to a set later on. Your record stays intact when new content arrives.
Base Game and DLC Sets Explained
Steam divides collections into two types: Base Game Achievement Sets and DLC Achievement Sets. The visual distinction makes them easy to tell apart at a glance.
Base Game Achievement Sets: All base game trophies and their progress bar appear blue on your achievements page.
DLC Achievement Sets: DLC achievements and progress bars are displayed in purple.
DLC sets will not show up in your overall game progress until you have access to the specific DLCs they are connected to. This design prevents DLC you do not own from dragging down your completion percentage. You are only measured against content you can actually play.
A Redesigned Achievements Page
Steam has redesigned its achievements page to show the sets and your progress more clearly. The new layout is built to handle the added structure that Steam Achievement Sets introduce.
The redesigned page also lets you compare your progress with up to three friends. That comparison includes the rare achievements you have earned and the sets you have completed. For players who enjoy friendly competition, this adds a social layer to completion tracking that was not there before.
Why This Matters for Completionists
The core appeal of Steam Achievement Sets is simple: your 100 percent record is protected. Before this feature, completionists had to either buy every piece of DLC or accept a permanently imperfect profile. Neither option was appealing.
With sets, the base game stands on its own. If you complete every base game achievement, that accomplishment is recognized and preserved. DLC achievements become their own separate challenge, tracked independently and only counted when you have access to that content.
This also gives developers more freedom. They can add seasonal events, multiplayer modes, or expansion content without worrying about disrupting the progress of players who finished the original release. The separation benefits both sides.
Availability and What Comes Next
Steam Achievement Sets are live now in the Steam Client beta. Developers need to update their games to add the specific collections, so support will vary by title. The platform says a growing number of games already support the feature, and that list should expand as more developers adopt it.
If you want to try the feature early, you can opt into the Steam Client beta. Otherwise, expect it to roll out to the stable client in the future. For now, the change signals that Valve is paying attention to the completionist community and the way players measure their progress.
For players who care about that perfect profile, Steam Achievement Sets are a welcome fix to a long-standing annoyance.
