We are in the middle of the Teturn to Hoth campaign and we need to choose some items, but we disagree on what to choose. We have 1,500 credits, but we also have some starter items, that we can sell for more credits. We have a guy playing MHD-19 who would like to get Combat Override and the T-21 blaster, so he can attack 3 times and get the 3 explosive cards in the deck. I would like him to get Bacta Radiator, so he can be a dedicated healer instead. I would like to spend the credits on Gaarkhan who have Wookie loyalty, Wookie Fortitude and Unstoppable. I would like to give him Laminate Armor Double Vibrosword as he only has base Vibro Axe (with Extended Haft). We have also talked about replacing Extended Haft with Engergized Hilt, so he has 2 red dice. But I don't like that he will lose reach. The Imperial player has armored onslaught deck, if that makes any difference when purchasing items.

It is generally best to have to full support that you don't have to equip so you can focus on equipping your actual dpsers. MHD is better off as a full support, focusing on not just healing but also removing strain (it is very good when paired with strain intensive heroes such as Gaarkhan). The support/dps hybrid option is there but I really don't think Combat override is that good. Also, the T21 is also not a very good weapon because of the no mod slot, its only saving grace is that it often over surges allows you to recover strain, there are much better ways to spend 900 credits.

As for your items, the fact you have extended haft and not balanced hilt is kind of an issue, as you kind of need balanced hilt to make cleave weapons like the double vibrosword work well. Because you have the haft and not the hilt, the BD-1 Vibroax is a much better choice of weapon. BD-1 w/ haft and energized hilt will be quite strong.

So my recommendation is get the laminate armor and wait and try and get either BD-1 or for the Electrostaff in tier 3 and convince your MHD player to concentrate on doing what it does best.

Tier 3 items are still 2 missions away though.

Well then be on the look out for the BD-1 Vibro-ax between now and then.

The electrostaff is generally seen as the best melee weapon, of course that's assuming that you have the Grand Inquisitor villain pack. The BD-1 is historically the best weapon for Gharkhaan. Without some method to get surges reliably I wouldn't count on the double vibrosword.

Is it just the two heroes (MHD and Gaarkhaan, with the Legendary buff), or are there other heroes in your group? If you just have the two characters, I can see the merit in kiting out the droid with a hybrid build that deals some damage. I'm not a fan of the T-21 personally, because it can't surge for damage and can't take any mods. But if the droid is looking primarily to have an extra surge each attack to consistently Recover so he can fire off his droid skills, there could be merit in that.

I would agree with both Deadwolf and Uninvited Guest that from a pure damage perspective, the BD-1 is a stronger choice than the Double Vibrosword, especially if you already have the extended haft for that free Pierce 1. The Balanced Hilt, Energized Hilt, or even the Vibrogenerator (to use when there's no one to cleave) would be nice supplementary mods to the extended haft. If you can afford to wait for the Electrostaff, that's a strong choice, too. But Tier III is a long wait if you're riding with a starter weapon.

As far as the laminate armor goes, it's a great upgrade, but depending on the composition of your group, you may not need/want it (at least not for Gaarkhan). Assuming a four-member party, a 14 health Gaarkhan is plenty tanky, and while the wounded Gaarkhan loses the ability to gain focus from being attacked, the passive +2D bonus to attacking while wounded from "Unstoppable" is very strong. That additional health will likely go further on another party member (especially if there are white-die members in the party, like Jyn or Mak). If it's just a two member team, Gaarkhan would have 24 health without the armor, I believe, so even less need to have the armor.

The party consists of Murne, Gaarkhan, Loku and MHD.

With 2 supports, yeah you want one of them to go dps hybrid, although you could get away with both going hybrid (if you have the credits to support that).

But like I said, I am just not a fan of combat override - fetching explosives is kinda cool (but remember that you are essentially spending 2 actions for the effect), and3 attacks for 2 actions is both situational and since most explosives require an action, the 2 components of the card don't mesh overly well.

I have been down on Lead from the Front in the past but after recently rereading it, I think it is actually really good, and I would promote hybrid Murne over hybrid MHD.

The temptation to making MHD hybrid is the autofocus half the time, but don't overlook the value of having his starting weapon be able to stun. MHD's best value is bacta radiator and adrenal vapor. I almost dread pulling explosives from the supply deck especially later in the campaign as their use is usually pretty neutered by then.

Murne is a marginally better hybrid, although I think lead from the front is too situational to be super effective.

Consider spending your credits giving Loku a strong Pistol as his natural accuracy boost allows you to roll a red die with abandon.