My general strategy when it comes to the escape pod is thus:

Floors 1-6: I'll be building atleast 1 industry, 1 science, and 1 food. I will try to research as much as possible on floors 1-6 and grabbing operator ASAP with food. Try and leave about 30 food to try and recruit people. You can find out which characters have operator from the character guides. If you did not start with an operator, try and recruit one ASAP. I almost always have 1 operator on industry, but it is up to you to decide which resource you need most during your playthrough. As for heroes, only level as much as you need to get the skills you want first before leveling further. Do realize skills increase in cost as they increase in level, a lvl 1 Shrapenilzer costs 9 science to reset but a lvl 2 Shrapenilizer will cost you 18! Refer to one of the character guides for information or my tier list. You'll rely heavily on prison prods early on but luckily these floors have plenty of dust to supply you with the rooms you need for a prison prod defense. If you know your enemies won't attack major modules, then build as many resource modules as you can (unless you are close to finishing a floor). Around the 4th floor start being careful about protecting your science crystals. If you notice there are enemies that destroy modules, do not research unless you can defend it. Module destroyers will target active crystals. Refer to "Know your enemy" for further info.

Floors 7 and 8: I'll be trying to stock up on resources for floors 9-12. This is because dust will become scarce on these levels and you'll want stocked up industry to build emergency generators if neccessary. You will also spam skills a bit more on those floors so stocked up science will be useful to reset their cooldowns.

Floors 9-11: I generally build an industry first and have an operator on it asap then proceed with exploration. I generally don't build my defence until I know what enemies I am up against. It is imporant to know what enemies you are up against so that you know how freely you can build. Major modules start becoming more rare on these levels so hopefully you got the researched minor modules that you need and a stockpile of resources!

Floor 12: This is where the difficulty jumps up dramatically, primarily b/c the game probably thinks this is where you'll go all out (and you should!). I generally enter this floor with about 300 of each resource, science and food varies a bit depending on team composition. Be ready to spam skills and reset them with science as needed. The stocked up resources were there for a reason! Major modules can be rare on this level, one of my last wins invovled only 3 major modules (well technically 4 if I bulldoze the research crystal!)



Due to the potential scarcity of major modules in floor 9-12, you should bulldoze science crystals to place the major modules that you want.

When it comes to researching try to do as much as you can in the early levels. It can sometimes be difficult around the 4th floor when mobs will start attacking active science crystals (as in they are resesarching something). Again, know the enemy you are up against! This is important. Remember, you can reroll to get the modules you want. Dont' fret if you don't get the modules you need, I've had a game where neurostunners never showed up. Just adapt your defences accordingly. If you're lucky researching will let you get +2 levels instead of just +1, its a pretty good call to level those first if it is one of the good modules.

You don't need to research everything, and things you do research don't have to be level 4. This is especially important for resource modules, They get very expensive later on, leveling a lvl 3 resource module to a level 4 is 100 science points! Thats about 3-4 minor modules you could have researched! You will research stuff you don't need inorder to act as a 're-roll' of sorts till you get the modules you want.

These are the modules I typically have on my winning games on the Escape Pod:

Prison Prods: These are a given, but they are very cost effective for what they do. They aren't the best, but they'll be your life line on the first few floors. They are great if you want quantity over quality. This means you need more rooms to make an effective prison prod defense. Its okay to level them up to level 4 since they don't cost a lot (use them like a re-roll to get something you really want). Later levels they can be used as fodder to Silic Zoners. I usually research them to lvl 2-4.

Tesla Module: I love these guys. They do decent damage for their cost and they target module destroying mobs first. This is really helpful since module destroyers are the bane of my play throughs. If you are up against Silic Zoners, these can be one of their counters. Level 2-4 is good enough for most of my runs.

Tear Gas: They don't seem that great on the early levels but their damage increase grows pretty good per level, almost tripling in damage by level 4. This is one module I always want at lvl 4. They also have nifty defense debuff to enemies. I wouldn't recommend them as your primary defense until they are lvl 3-4. Lvl 1 and 2 is more for the debuff.

Neurostunners: These things are great, the longer the enemies stay around the minor modules the more damage they take. This module can drastically cut down on the number of rooms you need for a defense! Putting two in the same room will slow enemies to a halt. I generally have them at lvl 2-4.

Pepperspray: Very good when deployed against heavy anti-hearo mob compositions. Careful when there are Kamikazes around, they'll detonate when charmed and blow your room to bits! They don't start off that great but they grow in strength rapidly through the levels. They work great for thinning out crowds of mobs. I want these at lvl2-4.

Emergency Generator: Nifty little item with a hefty price tag. They can increase dust drop rate a little bit if operated, but don't rely on it. Its main purpose is to light up rooms if you need to setup a defense or prevent mobs from spawning in a particular path on floors 9-12. If you're lucky enough to have no module destroyers in your floor, you can use them to power distant defense rooms to seperate clumps of enemies.

Shop: Really nice item to have on floors 9-12. If operated by a mechanical pal or hero it will generate dust. 1-10 Wit gives 1 dust per turn, 11-20 Wit gives you 2 dust, etc... Requires you to find a merchant on the floor first. When found, the merchant will teleport to the shop.

Mechanical Pal: I usually keep this guy at level 1. Have him operate stuff for a +1 boost to resources or dust.

Industry/Science/Food: I'll generally have these guys at level 2-3. If I get level 4 it is because there was a special deal to level it from 2 to 4 or 3 to 4. I've heard of some people have gotten by with just lvl 1-2 resources.

I would reccomend getting AoE modules like Tear Gas, Claymores, or Seblasters to handle large groups of mobs that occur in the higher floors. It is not mandatory but it will certainly make it easier.

Neurostunner x2: Great way to carve path for your crystal runner to an exit. It is also good for piling up enemies before they get into your kill room if you've got powerful Area of Effects (AoE) heroes on your team.

Neurostunner x2 + Level 4 Tear Gas x3: The ultimate defense. Nothing gets past this, aside from Silic Zoners, as long as your room is about 4x4 big. Everything will burn to death.

Neurostunner x2 + Level 4 Tear Gas x2: Most mobs will burn to death, those that survive will be low on health. Easy pickings for any defender.

Neurostunner (x1-2) + Prison Prod (x1-3): Nice early game setup. I usually stop using it once Tesla Modules are researched.

Neurostunner (x1-2)+ Tesla (x1-3): When you're unlucky and got alot of rooms with just two minor modules, this will help soften mobs up.

Prison Prod (x2 - x4): Nice early floor defense, this will later be bait for Silic Zoners.

Tesla (x2-4): Expensive bait for Sillic Zoners or to help soften up Golems and Kamikazes.

Pepperspray (x1-2) + Neurostunner (x1-2) + Tesla (x0-1): This is a nice setup against heavy anti-hero mob compositions such as Hurna Hunters or Chimera Hydras. Also good against Hurna Riders. Throw in a Tesla Module to soften them up.

Pepperspray (x1-2) + Level 4 Tear Gas (x2-3): Nice setup if you don't have neurostunners researched. Peppersprays help keep mobs around to get burned by tear gas. You can add a Tesla to kill mobs faster.

Telsa (x0-1) + Neurostunner(x0-2) + Tear Gas (x2-3): Great setup in major module rooms with a defender. Most mobs will stay around to attack the hero. Room dance to kite enemies and watch them burn.

2x Autodoc Shards + 2-3 Dust Field Generators: If you place a tanky hero like Gork or Elise you can hold a point while taking very little damage espeically with level 4 healing and defense modules. Gork can utilize this defense very well due to his taunt or equip a Hipster Scarf on Elise/other tanky hero to give her a passive taunt aswell as a hefty defense boost.

I would reccomend browsing through the Endless Dugeon wiki for info about the various mobs that I will talk about. Each floor will spawn 4 different mobs, be sure to know what you are facing before placing too many defenses.

http://dungeon-of-the-endless.wikia.com/wiki/Monsters

My typical exploration team. Two will stand in the dark to prevent mob spawns until I know what I'm up against. In this picture I discover there are Necrophage Kamikazes on this floor.

My thoughts on particular enemies and my defenses against them:

Chimera Hydra: Annoying guys that get worse in swarms. They have an attack that will slow your runners/door openers and a bit of range to their attack. Having scamper as a passive or equiping a Photon Decelerator is a good way to escape them. Peppersprayer are effective on them, especially when they start slowing down other mobs!

Chimera/Necrophage Kamikazes: Really annoying guys that will blow your room up. Multiples of these going off at the same time will kill your heroes instantly. They'll try to target the closest populated room and rush to the center before blowing up. For this reason I will build some defenses away from my major modules to soften them up. Teslas with nannostunners are great against them.

Silic Bulldozer (Golems): I find these guys annoying, they'll usually 4 shot your major modules and active science crystals. If I see them around the floor I'm on, I'll try to keep my major modules about 2 rooms back so that I can place Teslas around to soften them up. Tear gas can help lower their defense or kill them outright if you have three level 4 tear gas with double neurostunners. Careful when researching, they'll make quick work of your science crystals. If you have an Ahhrrrmani Suit or a Hipster Scarf or Gork with Warcry you can taunt them Bulldozers from hitting your module. The Bulldozers will still splash damage your modules but will take more hits to destroy them. Careful when taunting Kamikazes, and room dance when you need to.

Necrophage Necrodrone: Annoying buggers that will target your major modules if there is no hero in the room. They'll ignore minor ones. Elite versions on higher floors will target NPCs and active science crystals. Kill them the same way you do Silic Bulldozers. Oh and be careful, they have a ranged attack.

Anti-hero mobs: They'll start to really hurt on floor 12, Elites will be doing about 90-115 dmg a hit. Peppersprays are your best bet against them. They'll tear enemies up as fast as they tear your hero up. I will usually add one to my usual defense setup if I see them on the higher floors. Tesla Modules with nannostunners work as well since they are usually very fast and run ahead of the slower module destroying mobs.

Silic Zoners: Hate these guys, they do an AoE attack that damages all your modules and they love destroying the nearest minor modules or heroes. You can build prison prods in a room infront of your main defenses, this will bait them from your main defense. After the main defense has killed off the main wave of mobs you can send your heroes in to kill them. Another method would be to have a room full of Telsas close to your main defense but away from the main mob path. Zoners will target the nearest room first, so they will be lured to the Telsa Modules and killed. Not the most reliable method, but if you have a sufficiently long enough room, you can dance your hero back and forth from the end of the room to force the Zoner to move forward to attack you instead of the modules. If done right it'll move forward until defenses kill it, or move back and forth like an idot, or just hits your hero without splashing onto your modules.

Silic Support: These guys generally appear in the lower floors when you've only got prison prods as your defense. Their attack is low damamge but will splash and deal aoe damage to modules and heroes. They boost the defense of other mobs and are generally tough to kill with just prison prods. Teslas are nice against them but I generally just room dance them to death since they like chasing heroes. If you don't want to room dance you can just make 3-4 rooms of prison prods to kill them.

Hurna Rider: Nasty fellow. You'll hear their distinctive cries when they appear on your floor. They will normally target the closest door that is 2-4 rooms away from their point of origin/spawn. Watch out for the Rhino symbol and follow it to find out which door they want to destroy. If there are paths with closed doors, try and block them off with peppersrapyers. If you know what path enemies will take to get to you, make sure those paths have opened doors so if the Rider tries to bust down a door, it'll be in an empty room and easy pickings for your would be assassin if you have Golgy or an Aftershave item on your hero.

Hurna Shaman: They'll half the dps of your heroes and heroes will generally attack them last. Your best bet is to use Tesla or Prison Prods to kill them or just spam your hero's direct damage abilties if they have any. Smoking guns will generally target them first.

One of the things I like to do is what I call room dancing. The basic idea is to move your hero to a different room and quickly tell him to move back to their original room. This can be used to kite enemies or defend yourself against many enemies. If you are using ranged characters you can dance within the same room. Just tell them to move to a room away from the enemies then quickly tell them to move back to your original room after your hero has taken a few steps. They will fire from maximim range again if done right (as in Hero targeting AI doesn't screw things up and make the Hero run across the room to shoot a newly entering Kamikazi rather than the Hurna Hunter that is chasing the Hero). You can also dance a Hero like Rakya at the end of a long room to keep her Health Hazard active in the room while staying a distance away from newly entering mobs. This is much easier to do if the room you are in has neurostunners.


If you are getting swarmed by anti-hero mobs you can dance between rooms to save yourself. While you are transitioning between rooms, enemies can not hit you. As enemies move towards you run back to your original room. Enemies will pause for a slight second to detect your location and then start to transition to you. While this is happening they will get shot. Just keep dancing back and forth till the enemies are dead. The enemies are dead in the above screenshot, but originally there were 8 Chimera Zombies that would have swarmed and killed Nanor but I room danced till they were all dead with just 2 prison prods.

Here is Troe room dancing some enemies:

And this is around the time he's done:

If you're really good at room dancing, equip a taunt item like an Ahhrrrmani Suit or a Hipsterscarf and dance around a room with 4+ Tear Gas or Claymore Modules. A great counter to Silic Zoners and Silic Bulldozers. Be slightly careful with Kamikazes. If you do too many waves at once, you could potentially mess up and get hit by 50 mobs at once. This can obviously result in an instant death (high risk high reward). Here's an example with Mizi using an Ahhrrrmani Suit.
And when Mizi is nearly done:
I didn't really need to do the dancing in that picture, but I just really hate Silic Zoners destroying my stuff. Note that Mizi and the modules barely lost any health. You can also imagine doing that in a two module room with just 2 Tear Gas/Claymores with similar results, but slightly longer dance time.

On the later levels dust can be scarce and you might run out of dust to power rooms to prevent from being attacked from too many sides. One solution is to place heroes in unlit rooms to prevent mob spawns. If all heroes are used up you can depower one of your defenses to light up a room. Once you see waves spawn, take note on the bottom right how many waves have spanwed then check on your map to see if they have all spanwed. Once they are spanwed, depower the lit room to repower your defenses against the oncoming wave.

If you have an operator in a room off to the side, you can depower their room right after getting the resources for opening the door. Be sure to pause inorder to activate a room on time. When you reactivate the room your operator should still be getting the bonus resources.

This is obvious but place heroes in unlit rooms near the exit when making your escape to the next floor as shown below:


The picture below is from one of my harder games which I almost lost. I originaly had Joreli and Skroig from randoming. Met up with Nanor and Mizi and replaced Joreli with the first operator I could find which was Mormish. I was being swarmed by Kamikaze bugs and Bulldozers. I had to organize a defense with 50 dust by turn 21! Most rooms had only 2-3 minor defense modules and major modules were scattered about in poor positions for dealing with Bulldozers.

1. I had to power this room to keep enemies from spawning here. Once mobs have spanwed I'll power up my defenses in the unlit room indicated by the arrow, thus keeping my right side safe.

2. Skroig and Nanor are preventing mobs from spawning in the unpowered rooms. Unforuntately it was hard to use Red Plume with the huge amount of Kamikazi's. Nanor's Cooking with Gas was useful as always.

3. Mizi is here to mount a defense against incoming waves with 2 Neurostunners and 1 Tear Gas. I was lucky and found an Aftershave on floor 11. Mizu will spam her Hellfire to kill most of the mobs, it combos with Nanor's Cooking with Gas for 56 dmg/sec. Most will head towards where Mormish is at #4.

4. My only easily accessible major module. I placed a science module till I could get a shop up. Luckily this acts as a Bulldozer and Kamikaze magnet, otherwise they'd have headed towards the core.

5. A room with no minor modules, couldn't mount a defense here hence the need for Mizu to help prevent enemies from swarming all over Mormish.

As you open more doors on a floor the mob waves will grow in size. I would reccomend powering rooms so that they seperate unlit rooms. This makes it mobs come at you in delayed waves, thus making it easier to handle. In later levels you can place your fast mobile heroes in unlit rooms to chunk up enemies due to potential dust shortages. Peppersprayers are great for thinning out mobs as they move through a single target defense. Try to seperate groups of 1-3 unpowered rooms apart from each other for an easier time.

If you are going down a long path, finding a self-powered room or placing an emergency generator will be a boon that lets you place down peppersprayers or neurostunners to delay mob waves. This is harder to do if you are facing Silic Zoners, or Bulldozers if you are placing emergency generators.

Usually the more doors that are around your core at the start, the harder it is to win that level. This is because you have to be lucky to guess which door will lead to your exit and you'll have 4 paths to defend which is hard early on when you don't have enough dust to power a defense.

When there are three doors I will go down the middle door in the hopes that it will loop back to the other two. If it does loop back to your core, leave that core door LAST. This is great boon since it allows you to do research knowing that it will finish. The core door as last will also never spawn enemy waves in all the games I played so far. This rule can be very useful if you're on a difficult mob composition early on and are unable to defend any of the science crystals. Just pick your research before opening the last door at your core to get your research done. Having a loop also means you have a long path that you can build your defense and less of a struggle to defend since there is only 2 paths to defend now rather than 3.

When there are four doors I will go down one path and do my usual exploration till I know what enemies I'm up against. I will then proceed to setup my defense and hopefully farm some dust. Once I've got enough to power a room I'll open one of the other doors in the hopes for a major module as shown below:


Not the best picture but I was exploring the West (Left) path first. Once I got 10 dust I opened the South path and left a major module there. I then proceeded to finish exploring the West and learned it didn't loop. I then went East in the hopes for a loop but that was also a no go. And as the picture shows I started to explore the North path. I never explored South till last because it wouldn't require defense and I would be able to stock up on resources from that major module without worry. By the time I explore the South path I will have farmed a nice amount of dust from the waves of enemies.

If South contained no major module in the first 1-2 doors I will decide to finishing exploring South after I'm done with West. I will then proceed to open one of the remaining two doors in the hopes for a easily defended major module.

Yes yes, I think most of you know what a merchant does but here are some things I do with them.

1. I always try to keep 4 items on me so that when I finally encounter a merchant I can sell it to them for resources. The great thing about merchants is that doors that contain them don't spawn enemies so use this chance to obtain extra resources! There is a high chance that there will be atleast 1 merchant on each floor.

2. Always buy the Aftershave item if you see it, it is expensive but its one of the greatest items for your runner or Rakya/Mizu/Troe combos. Repair belt or Survival kit is also great to allow characters to repair without having to move your operator off their module. If you're good at room dancing go with a Hipster Scarf or Ahhhhrmani Suit.

3. If you meet a dust merchant try and save him and not let him die to mobs. Build a shop if you can to prevent him from being killed by anti-hero mobs. When the level ends buy ALL his expensive items till you're at the magic 4 items for next floor. Obviously don't over buy to the point that you can't light up enough rooms for the exit.

4. It is super obvious, but put them into a shop with a mech pal for +1 dust each turn. Really useful on floors 9-12.

It is important to keep your runner/door opener very flexible. Sure Skroig might not have repair but you can always swap his Third Eye (Pilfer passive) for a Survival Kit (grants Repair):


Photon Decelerator for scamper and speed boost duirng cyrstal running, Hand Vacuum to get extra dust through pickpocket, Third Eye (Pilfer) when opening doors, and Aftershave (Skulking) to be invisible and run away from danger or assassinate targets like Hurna Riders. Not mandatory to have any of those items but I really love the Aftershave. You can pass it down to a defender who's getting swarmed in order to save their life. If you're really good at room dancing I would reccomend a Hipster Scarf or an Arrrhmani Suit.

I hear people like teir lists, so I thought I'd make one!

Heavyweights:
Elise - One of my favourites. She has good damge, pretty sturdy, and an instant damage AoE that can quickly destroy most mobs. Get her to level 10 and let her blow everything up in 2 blasts. Make sure to try and pile the enemies up with neurostunners. Very science expensive, but you're gonna wanna go out with a bang on floor 12. Plant her on a room and she'll not let anyone pass, except in pieces!

Rakya - Yea yea I know, her Health Hazard attack is just a crappy version of Mizu's Hellfire but it is still very good. She is one of the best operators due to her skill set and can easily hold off a room with her AoE combined with Tear Gas modules. Equip an Aftershave on her and let her burn anything that enters her room. I try to level her to 8 for that extra module damage.

Chef Nanor - His damage is horrendous with his slow attack speed, but that is not what you're using him for. Get him to level 5 and let him unleash his AoE. It is hands down the best AoE in the game since it is floor wide with dust generation to boot! This skill is so good that you can just leave Nanor as a permanent light fixture in a dark room and he'd still be considered the super useful MVP of the team.

Skroig - Super fast lightning attacks but super squishy due to lack of armor slot. He does however have good health and defense growth from leveling. His level 5 skill Red Plume is one of the better defensive skills in the game. His Red Plume causes all enemies in the room to attack each other. Cheap cost to reset for such a good ability. Do be careful of Kamikaze's blowing up in his face though. Try to room dance away from the explosions if you're in a nice big room, but don't count on it being 100% chance to avoid a blast. He's a good runner and can leap to defend a room in a pinch.

Mizi - She has a double attack that occurs every now and again and hits pretty hard. A bit slow on the attack but thats not what you're here for. She works pretty much like Rakya, without the repair, operate, master hacker, and optimizer...well okay all she has is her Hellfire which unlike Health Hazard, does not damage herself! Plant her in a room with Tear Gas modules and watch the enemies cry to death. I keep her at level 7.

Hikensha - a very good operator but one of her big downsides is the level 8 repair. On the plus side, all her passive skills are great for the team and if in a pinch she can increase her damage with her actives. Try to get her to level 4 for operator but I prefer getting her to level 5 for Endless Expert. I will eventually level her to 8 by floor 8.

Top Tier:

Troe - Good damage with great health. He can be a good defender and runner. His level 7 kneecapper ability is a nice dot damage in an AoE that slows. He can be used to defend 1 room or rushed over to help someone else defend. Room dance him if you don't want him getting swarmed and just let his AoE do all the work. Works best with Tear Gas modules. My only gripe is that it only lasts 5s and does lower damage than most of the other DoTs.

Golgy - one of the best runners in the game. She can be pretty flexible due to her two device slots and the ability to operate. The downside is she needs levels to stay relevent in damage. Her ability to cloak away allows her to move around the map unhindered if you need an assassin to snipe certain targets or just to get away from danger. Her slow is also great to help defend a room or crystal runner. Get her to level 8.

Max - Very nice balanced character that works as operator or door opener due to his pilfer ability. He gets operate at lvl 4 and pilfer at lvl 5, 10, and 15. You can get him to lvl 10 if you want for level 2 pilfer but I don't always do so if I got more important characters to level.

Gork - Pretty tanky hero with good defense and damage but is slow moving. Luckily his first skill will boost his movement speed and attack power. He does well in a room that can buff his defense or attack due to his taunting ability.

Sara - Use to think she was the worst character ever, but since she's made it to almost half my wins at one point I can't really say that anymore. She's fast, and makes a great crystal runner. She is also great if you get her early since she has repair at level 3. Its great when you don't have to move your operator off to repair modules when Sara can do it. Level her to 7 by floor 8 for pickpocket and let her kill some guys with Aftershave on. She'll work as your assassin this way. She will also work as a mobile neurostunner with Aftershave due to her slow down passive.

Ken - Fast with high damage, especially if you activate all his skills. He even comes with repair at level 5 which is still somewhat early. The only downside is his lack of AoE, but he's still pretty good for a door opener. I usually level him to atleast 7.

Deena - A balacned hero with a FLOOR wide heal that can save your behind early on. On the plus side she can operate or act as your runner with scamper. Lack of repair sucks though.

Mormish - Gosh this guy is on the useless scale when it comes to damage. Sometimes I wonder if I should even give him a gun. You're not here for a damage character, he's a great operator (which he learns at level 4). His armchair general is great since you don't always want your operator getting swarmed by mobs anyway. If he does get swarmed or you're opening your first few doors, his War Profiteer active can help generate you some extra dust. Be sure to help him kill stuff though since he's basically does no damage. I keep him as level 4 or 7 in my games.

Josh - Very good operator due to his extremely high Wit but he lacks repair. He gets operate at level 3 and a very good floor wide team buff to Wit at level 5. Armchair chair general at level 6 is good on him since you'll most likely be keeping him away from mobs.

Lower Top Tier:

Opbot - This guy is a good operator but is super squishy and doesn't really bring the damage to the team. I would prefer to keep him away from enemies even if he does have Recycling as one of his passives (generates 1 industry per 5 kills in the room) . He gets operate at level 3 and comes with early repair at lvl 1. You can prob keep him as level 3 for a while if you got more important characters to level.

Joleri - She makes a good runner and has a nice 'oh ♥♥♥♥' ability with hold the line. She also possesses scamper and an active to boost her speed allowing her to escape enemies easily or rush to someone's aid. She's also somewhat cheap to level but her big downside is her abilities lower your dust drops.

Whatever comes after Top Tier:

Mid Tier:

Low Tier:

Garbage Tier:

Okok fine, you don't got time to learn anything, if you are really desperate for a win you can opt. for an AoE team. Strong AoE heroes can potentially hold off 7+ waves on their own, albiet at a cost of science and possibly some food.

Good AoE heroes:

Elise - Shrapnelizer at lvl 10 blows enemies away in about two casts. Clump up enemies with neurostunners and watch all enemies turn to dust. It'll cost a hefty 18 science to reset at level 10 but it is a great skill and she will hold off enemies with just 1 room if required. Room dance to buy some time to clump enemies up if you need to or use Aftershave.

Rakya - Health Hazard is dangerous when coupled with Tear Gas and her lvl 8 passive. She is like Elise and will defend a point all by herself if you need to. On the plus side she's an operator and a fast repairer.

Mizi - Same as Rakya but more of a runner.

Troe - Same as Rakya but less duration and damage so you have to spam more... Its more of a defensive skill since it slows enemies down thus making them stay in your Tear Gas and defenses longer. Honestly, I'd just pick one of the other AoE heroes but hey beggars can't be choosers ;)

Nanor - Hands down best AoE since it affects the whole floor. Just keep spamming Cooking with Gas tilll you run out of science and call it a day.

Skroig - Use his Red Plume after you've clumped up enemies with neurostunners in a room ahead then spam this till all enemies have killed themselves. It can be dangerous to Red Plume Kamikaze enemies as the resulting blast from several Kamikazes at once will kill Skroig in an instant. Room dancing can potentially save him but don't count on it.

Recommended starting setup:

Rakya + Nanor: Reason? Rakya has repair early on so if you're unlucky in your run and got lots of module destroying mobs it will be a lifesaver and she has good damage. She also gets operate very early (level 3) so you can get your more resources in the early levels. In the later floors you can use her in a 1-2 room defense. Combine her with nannostunners and tear gas modules to wipe out any waves that try to get past her. If you need to buy time for the AoE to finish off mobs, dance Rakya at the end of the room so that enemies will take more time to reach her. Make sure she never actually leaves the room so that her Health Hazard stays active in the room she is guarding. Give her an Aftershave to save yourself from having to micro/kite her too much. Nanor is one of the best support heroes due to his level 5 active and it combos with Rakya's AoE. Not much else really needs to be said about him. Just use him as a permanent light fixture in dark rooms. Try and get a runner into your team, if not, just slap a tutu on someone and give them a speed boosting device. If you find Elise you might as well roll your face over the keyboard b/c you probably won unless you set up defenses poorly or low stock of science.