How do you guys play the ironclad - offense or defense?

I sucked hard for my first 3 runs, but now that I tried him as a defensive character, I am steamrolling the spire. Barricade is a literal game changer for me - without it this run probably wouldnt be going well, admittedly.

I am wondering if people are able to use him as a raw aggression character successfully - my attempts at it as a new player were just awful.