Well, I can see a number of plausible situations where V gets set back.
For one, if there's not an opportunity for V to make up with the Scavs, to funnel business their way through all the bodies V winds up dropping in exchange for a cut of the profits, or something like that, then, I can see the Scavs holding a long grudge.
They could bait V with a contract through V's fixer with a "milk run" easy opportunity that's too good to pass up, that V thinks he/she can do alone, without support, which in reality turns out to be an orchestrated ambush ending in V waking up on a table without any arms, or missing other important pieces, getting rescued by Jackie, or some other ally.
It wouldn't have to be a mandatory quest; totally optional, but, giving it a pass would miss out on several connected quests and opportunities that play out over the longer course of the game; getting new arms/parts to start, and going on a drawn-out hunt for every Scav that ever existed, and anyone that ever supported them.
V for Vendetta ... or something like that.
And you are hitting the nail on the head when you say "because reasons." It's that kind of unrealistic context that frustrates people. Fortunately, I get the impression that CDPR's designers are better than that. I think they may have you covered.
if you think about it, throwing in sidequests that take your gear away like that are actually quite easy and might be far more practical. for example let's say you have to sneak into a "big-wig's" party to gather Intel, so going gun's blazing would be counter-intuitive. so using enhancements, or if you have none, social skills, or other means. it makes for a fun challenge that doesn't necessarily permanently take away equipment, rather gives a reason why you shouldn't have it at that moment.
true , true. lol i think if given the option i might just shoot everyone purely to see where the game takes me.
when i read that all i could imagine is a pirate with a peg leg walking into a party then out of nowhere his peg leg turns into a blender.
A plausible mechanic to "remove" a player character's weapons would be to force them into a VR simulation.
We saw similar to this with the VR pods in the Fallout games.
Putting a non-optional, unavoidable quest mechanic like that in the game, in my opinion, is annoying, and starting to get a little predictable and formulaic when it comes to games throwing that unavoidable device into the main story through interactive dreams, VR, jail, or some other excuse.
However, I find the same thing acceptable if it's done as a non-mandatory quest; something that's actually part of player decision making and a choice where any consequences and/or rewards, either immediate, or protracted and to be revealed later become meaningful because you made the choice to do that quest, and accept the results of the play through, even if the results are immediately detrimental to the character, instead of giving it a pass, and/or reloading to an earlier save.
I mentioned it earlier, and I think in another thread, perhaps the Story Line Suggestions thread, where V could make up with the Scav gang, and put them to work scavenging all the bodies V drops, but, maybe they still hold that grudge, and can they really be trusted, so, perhaps V gets lured into doing a milk run mission alone, and it turns out the Scavs, and/or someone else V gave a really bad day have teamed up, ambush V, and V wakes up on a table missing Arms, Legs, other parts, and is getting rescued by Jackie, or some other friend to come back full circle to that first mission where the "princess" needs rescuing, except now, it's V.
From there, you could have a big recovery montage, and a period of gimping by, somewhat nerf'd from your previous load out, calling in favors to get replacement limbs, and new gear, and now you're on a very personal hunt for some folks you might have tried giving a chance only to get back-stabbed.
