Items are okay when you get tired of no items, and want to have fun. I use it sometimes to level the playing field with my friend because he can't beat me 1vs1 and it's boring kicking his butt all the time.
I really hate when he starts talking smack when he beats me sometimes with items, and be getting lucky, but w/e
I prefer to play without items though, really makes you learn what your character can do, and makes you less dependant on items to win games online.