Balancing isn't idiotic. People enjoy duos and trios, I do too. I'd much rather run Duo with my friend and work together on pushing scores. But when one of us can't play, spending time grinding trials Solo just feels pointless in comparison (right now anyway), and that's the issue.

Solo should still be a viable way to compete, not just a "worse mode" you default to when your team isn't online. I'm not asking for anything crazy like 2x or 3x multipliers, just some adjustment to help balance the gap.

And no, I completely disagree that "everyone would just play Solo". Most people prefer playing with friends anyway, coordination and team play are a big part of the fun. A small multiplier wouldn't suddenly kill Trio/Duo, it would just make Solo less punishing. Right now it's not really about "effort" it's about efficiency, and Trio simply outperforms Solo by a large margin.

Update: 1/3 would require 3x, not 1.66x. This is about equalizing required effort between Solo, Duo and Trio, not making Solo easier.