Like some characters are stronger all-round earlier in the game (e.g. level 28) and some characters really come into their own during end-game stages, e.g. level 72.
Like early best character example would be Maya, and endgame strongest example would be Zero.
I think some people have said this before.
Gaige in particular. As soon as I got close enough, anarchy, buck up, and discord she felt maxed out before 30. Stopped playing her at level 33.
Maya doesn’t really hit her stride until level 50 or so. Then again, once you get corrosive cloud she can just use that and a slag gun.
Gunzerker is good at any level with the right gear.
Axton drops off as he gets into uvhm. Still love him though
Kriege…idk really don’t like his action skill and don’t like that most builds don’t even use it.
Zero breezes through until mid tvhm around level 45 I started to see the grind of getting him up to 72 and set him down.
That’s my experience. The characters weren’t scaled well after level 50 because they weren’t initially intended to. That said when properly geared they are all deadly in the right hands at any level.
that’s interesting
many ppl here say Zero is beastly at the higher levels but they do say you have to be somewhat skilled for him to do so. He certainly doesn’t have great health regen, even at higher levels.
Also I would say Maya even at say lvl.34 is a beast, for example with this build http://bl2skills.com/siren.html#000000000003000000000533413331
(P.S. you have to use her SMG buff mod that basically gives her double damage though)
I was playing my level 35 Zer0 the other day in early TVHM. Plenty of one-shot sniper kills - really satisfying.
I just looked at Gaige’s skill tree (never played her before), yes I can see her doing sick damage at just level 12
http://bl2skills.com/mechromancer.html#000000000000000000000000410110000000
xD what a character, I’m guessing she’d be good with hyperion weaponry
Yeah, zero for turned into having to always make sure I had a decent slag trans and a moxi gun. He’s just too brittle and I don’t like the go super fast and stack cc playstyle.
The dlc sniper in the presequal is a much more enjoyable sniper/glass canon for me. I wish cc was I can’t ever miss.
Maya feels most balanced throughout the pkaythrough, since the cloud kill buff especially. She feels the least gear dependent.
I think I’ll give zero a chance again. I did love launchers and shotguns out of deception. Might go pistols with him too. I love that he can make weapons more accurate than any other vault hunter. Really felt each character should have a way to make at least one weapon type more accurate, but meh.
I had a trickshot Maggie I found farming loot midgets on a kriege attempt so I made a gaige just to try that.
As soon as level 19 hit and I got that I just mowed down everything by shooting the ground it was crazy fun for like five hours then I got bored by it.
yes I’m looking at Gaige again now
I would say perhaps she is the most powerful and ‘complete’ at lower levels, just down her Ordered Chaos path
At level 31 she just needs this http://bl2skills.com/mechromancer.html#000000000000000000000000410140141451
nothing else needed basically! I would probably give up with her after NVHM xD but I would have a blast doing it though!
It’s on my ‘to do’ list.
Exactly what I did lol. It was fun but nothing about her skill trees or playstyle makes me want to take her higher.
I play at op0 as my max play through. So all the vault hunters are great there and I’ll probably get around to getting her up someday.
My Maya found a bekka last week so my next few hundred hours will be using that so gaige is definitely on the back burner for now.
Lvl.21 Gaige that can do big damage and health regen when she needs also 
http://bl2skills.com/mechromancer.html#000000000000000000000000410140141000
for maximum newbie fun
You need close enough to make high anarchy work though.
First six points should be getting anarchy, close enough 5/5.
do ya? I’m thinking I could make it work just by using hyperion pistols (and maybe some good SMGs of any brand)
would help with a mod that buffed her fire rate
I noticed that with her reduced mag size you didn’t have many shots at max accuracy with hyperion. Shotguns are great at high anarchy though. Found a quad from Wilhelm and it wrecked mobs.
Melee Krieg is kinda hard to use between Level 1 and Level 30. But once you get Release the Beast, it’s pretty much a cakewalk.
I was talking about Melee, should’ve mentioned that. 
I got to near the end of NVHM with Krieg and gave up on him, he was doing pathetic gun damage.
Also I could not see having to Melee the Warrior being any fun at all so I straight up just gave up with him without even completing NVHM.
That’s a real shame dude, Krieg is IMO the funnest character in the game.
That’s what I’be been told. The only kriege build I like the look of is the javelin one. Not really huge on mellee in this series.
He’s so deadly when used right just not my cup of tea.
It sucks two of my favorite vault hunters are in the presequal. Jack would be utterly broken in this game though and if you transfered aurelia’s cryo tree into a slag tree for bl2 she’d be Maya+zero combined and utterly rediculous.