So I just entered a depth 8 party lobby.
One +8 vitapod, and one +2 vitapod.
I'm thinking back to my run from Haven to Moorcroft. On every level of depth n, I saw one +n vitapod, and sometimes additional ones behind an energy gate.
So why two pods in a party lobby? You had the old system, but now? If you have 4 people playing, what's kinda expected?
How does a +8, +7, +6, and +5 vitapod sound? Too much health to start?
At +8 and +2, thre's a slight encouragement to solo -- the second person doesn't get much. At the very least, +8, +4, +1, and +1.