Guild Wars 2

Hi,
I just want to start by saying this isn’t a Guard-hate post, since there seem to be quite a few…

I made a guard thinking it was a tank… Easy enough mistake, the name, heavy armor, and big shield all implied tank. I am used to healers on other games, and figured I could channel that protective instinct into a guard easily enough. So I’ve leveled my guard to 80, solo, which is where my problem comes in.

Soloing PvE I’m tough, Love it, she can essentially solo certain group events “Like reclaim the fort from the fire legions” sort of events, not kill the uber champion boss, but still pretty good. I can’t complain. I thought I was pretty tough until I went into a dungeon with some friends and learned the hard way that guards have base HP only slightly higher than Elementalists (If I’m wrong do correct me.)

I have sadly learned that I am not what I thought I was, which seems to have caught a lot of people out. I’m now having a bit of an identity crisis… I’m running at just about 15,800 HP, I have not even begun to work on Accessories yet, definitely need to work on my gears. I am using a combo of Cleric and Giver’s Armor, and a build which is heavy on Vitality/Toughness, Traits picked are mostly supportive to pt. Shouts, Boons, All Symbols heal, Dodge heals, etc. I have watched some videos on builds, etc before posting here.

Can somebody please help me figure out what my roll is in a party? I am used to soloing, and I’m not really sure what is expected of a guard in a dungeon, or WvW, etc. Is a guard a support class or a tank that I’m using/geared wrong? Something in-between? I’ve seen some people get pretty ticked off at this, but I’m not really bothered by it, I just want to use the character I made to her best ability and be useful to others. Where my heart really lies is in the role of a supportive class/healer, so really anything that focuses on that is what I would find most helpful.

Thanks,
Sorry this is so long!

~Emily~