Worn Plasma Cartridge Appraisal

In Probably Stolen, how to grade a worn Plasma Cartridge requires adding its condition and plasma-color adjustments to a 300-Credit base, checking whether it qualifies for its manufacturer's bonus, and applying the 90-Credit minimum last. Light Wear subtracts 45 Credits and Heavy Wear subtracts 90 Credits, but wear is only one part of the appraisal.

Cracks, exposed screws, reinforcement, color and the maker's seal can change the result. Do not reject a cartridge's manufacturer bonus merely because it is worn: Wild's Rides permits any condition, while Republic Naval Requisition permits wear but not cracks. The maker's complete requirements determine the bonus.

Identify the appraisal item

Plasma Cartridges begin appearing with appraisal customers at the Senior Appraiser rank. The customer brings the item for valuation, and it remains theirs. Seeing a cartridge on the counter is therefore not the same as obtaining free fuel or sale stock for your own shop.

Use the Magnifying Glass to inspect the cartridge's visible attributes. Read the maker and examine the casing, screws, reinforcement, seal and plasma color. A calculation based only on the word “worn” misses several independent adjustments.

The listed item value of 300 Credits is the starting point. It is not the answer for every cartridge. A worn cartridge may finish above or below that base depending on its other features and whether its maker's conditions are satisfied.

Keep the inspection separate from the arithmetic. First identify all the attributes, then apply the corresponding amounts. Otherwise it is easy to change the price when you notice one feature and forget that another adjustment has not yet been included.

Apply the casing adjustments

The condition adjustment is the sum of the cartridge's applicable attributes. Reinforcement does not automatically cancel wear or cracks; it has its own positive amount.

Read the actual wear classification instead of assuming every visible scratch means Heavy Wear. Light and Heavy Wear have different deductions. Likewise, do not substitute “worn” for “cracked” when evaluating a manufacturer's restrictions, because those conditions can have different consequences.

Apply the attributes that the cartridge actually has. Do not invent an extra deduction because a battered casing seems worse than its listed classification. The appraisal uses the game's defined adjustments rather than a subjective estimate of how unpleasant the item looks.

Keep reinforcement in the calculation even when the item also has a negative attribute. Its bonus can raise the subtotal, while the negative attribute may still disqualify the maker bonus. Arithmetic effects and qualification conditions need to be handled separately.

Classify the plasma color

Standard plasma has no adjustment. High-Grade plasma adds 150 Credits. Plasma that is neither Standard nor High-Grade is treated as Low-Grade and subtracts 150 Credits.

Color also matters to the maker bonus. A color can have its own monetary adjustment and still fail the manufacturer's required specification. Do not assume that any expensive-looking plasma automatically qualifies for every maker's premium.

For example, the Ignition Lab specification requires High-Grade plasma. A Standard-color cartridge does not qualify for that maker's bonus merely because its casing looks perfect. The bonus checks the complete combination, not only the feature you inspected first.

Conversely, Low-Grade plasma is permitted under the Wild's Rides color specification. It still takes the ordinary color deduction, but that deduction does not by itself rule out the WLD manufacturer bonus if the remaining requirements match.

Check the complete manufacturer specification

There are four common maker codes. Each has a different set of allowed attributes, and every listed manufacturer requires its seal. Award the corresponding bonus only when the cartridge meets all the requirements.

For a worn WLD cartridge, wear does not automatically remove the bonus. Check the color and seal as well. For a worn RNR cartridge, check specifically for cracks; ordinary wear and a crack are not interchangeable conditions.

A worn ZHS cartridge does not meet its clean-or-reinforced condition specification just because the color and seal look right. The same principle applies to IGN: passing two requirements does not compensate for failing the third.

Treat a missing or mismatched requirement as a failure of that bonus, rather than applying part of it. The listed bonus is conditional on the whole specification. You still apply the ordinary casing and color adjustments even when no maker bonus qualifies.

Calculate in a consistent order

Use one sequence for every cartridge: base, condition, color, maker bonus, minimum. Keeping the same order reduces omissions and prevents the floor from being applied before later adjustments are finished.

1. Start with 300 Credits.
2. Add the applicable casing adjustments.
3. Add the plasma-color adjustment.
4. Check the maker's full specification and add its bonus only if qualified.
5. If the result is below 90 Credits, use 90 Credits as the final value.

The 90-Credit floor is not an extra 90-Credit bonus. It replaces a lower final subtotal. If your arithmetic already gives more than 90, do not add the minimum on top.

Likewise, the 300-Credit base is not a lower limit. Negative conditions can reduce a cartridge below that amount. Keeping the base and floor separate is essential for heavily damaged or Low-Grade examples.

Work through worn-cartridge examples

Consider a WLD cartridge with Light Wear, Standard plasma and the required seal. Start at 300, subtract 45 for Light Wear, add no color adjustment and add 60 for the qualifying WLD specification. The result is 315 Credits.

Now consider an RNR cartridge with Heavy Wear, Standard plasma and its required seal, but no cracks. The calculation is 300 minus 90 plus the 120 maker bonus, giving 330 Credits. Heavy Wear lowers its condition value without violating RNR's no-cracks requirement.

Change that example to a cracked, reinforced cartridge that cannot qualify for its maker bonus. The calculation is 300 minus 150 plus 60, giving 210 Credits. Reinforcement helps the arithmetic but does not erase the crack for a maker that forbids cracks.

For a severely reduced example, use Heavy Wear, Exposed Screws and Low-Grade plasma with no qualifying maker bonus. The subtotal is 300 minus 90 minus 30 minus 150, which equals 30 Credits. Apply the minimum last, so the final appraisal is 90 Credits rather than 30.

These examples illustrate different rules. They are not extra cartridge categories. Inspect the actual item, choose its real adjustments and use the same calculation sequence rather than selecting whichever example looks visually closest.

Find the cause of an incorrect appraisal

If the price is too high, first check whether you awarded a manufacturer bonus without satisfying its full requirements. A correct seal alone is insufficient. Review the casing restrictions and required color for that specific maker.

If the price is too low, check whether you removed a legitimate WLD or RNR bonus merely because the cartridge was worn. Review whether the actual condition was permitted. Also check that reinforcement was included if present.

If the arithmetic falls below 90, verify that the minimum was applied after all ordinary adjustments and the maker check. If your result differs by a wear amount, reread whether the item has Light Wear or Heavy Wear rather than changing an unrelated modifier.

Finish by checking every inspected attribute against one line in your calculation. The cartridge's maker, seal, wear, cracks, screws, reinforcement and plasma classification should all be accounted for without duplicating a deduction. Once those checks agree, enter the final value and keep the customer's appraisal item separate from your own inventory.

Compare similar-looking worn cartridges

Two cartridges with Heavy Wear can require different answers even when their casing deductions match. A Standard-color RNR item with the correct seal and no cracks can qualify for its maker bonus. A Standard-color ZHS item with Heavy Wear cannot satisfy its narrower condition requirement. Starting from the same base and wear deduction does not make the final prices equal.

The same comparison helps with color. A Low-Grade WLD cartridge can still meet its maker's color rule, while Low-Grade plasma fails the Standard-color requirement for RNR. Apply the ordinary Low-Grade deduction first, then make the separate qualification check. This avoids treating a negative price adjustment as automatic proof that no manufacturer bonus is possible.

When comparing the items, name the difference explicitly: maker, permitted casing condition, required color or seal. That is more useful than remembering one final number for all worn cartridges. The correct appraisal follows the exact set of attributes on the current customer's item, including any feature that changes the bonus without changing the wear deduction itself.

Write down each adjustment once before entering the price, then check the total against the ninety-Credit minimum.