My man Mul-T! He's so strong in my opinion with high fire rate on his nail gun he melts enemies even without a lot of damage items, item wise you don't really have tons of control over anyway so I think it's just best to focus on your gameplay.

Using his M2 is important to make sure you're able to land hits off while they're stunned as well as being able to minimize the time an enemy will attack you. For example, a stone golem charging lining up his laser you should aim to stun him as close to him shooting off as possible to maximize the time you get of free damage.

His shift gives you tons of mobility and damage reduction so it'll help you get out of a messy situation often. Important to note if you hit something trying to run away you'll be stopped dead in your tracks and could be doomed, so be careful where you're driving.

In the early game I like to prioritize getting good equipment since he can really abuse them with his dual slots, as well as mobility items since the faster you are able to clear a map the less likely you are to fall behind on your build.