Why am I so bad at arty?

The_Chieftain: One thing I might change  is 'going to the typical arty positions'. Especially if you're in something fast like a French arty. Little infuriates me as much as an arty driver who forgets that there is a "Self propelled" part  in "Self-propelled guns". I presume, since you're claiming to be a reasonably good tank player, that you often position yourself with artillery in mind. Hiding behind cliffs, buildings, and the like. The amount of arty players who simply accept this state of affairs,  say "He's hiding, oh well. Nothing I can do about it, let's move on" is hair-pulling.  I advocate not staying in 'typical arty positions', and getting as close as you can to the front line of one side or the other whilst still being in cover/concealment for several reasons. 1) Time of flight to targets near you is very, very short. You will have a good chance of hitting mobile targets, or those who are popping from cover. 2) To targets on the far side of the map, you are now engaging from a direction the enemy does not expect. Hugging a building when you expect arty to the South doesn't help you when arty hits you from the East. (You will be amazed how many targets stay in place after the first hit and give you free seconds)3) When the inevitable ELC or EBR scoots past the front line, you know exactly where they are going to go looking for you: Where arty typically sets up. Being somewhere else reduces the chances that you will be found. 4) If the EBR does find you, there is far more chance that one of your team-mates will be able to deal with him if you are already close to your team mates, rather than your being on your own 400m from everyone else. Don't spend too much effort countering. The way I do it, I pre-aim at a likely spot at the front line to hit a tank, and while the gun is reloading or aiming, I hold down the right mouse button to keep the aim spot the same, then look at a place which might be suitable to spot enemy artillery trace. If the gun reloads before you see an arty trace, don't waste any time, send the round down to wherever it was you were aiming already. If you do see an arty trace, sure, it will take fifteen seconds to relay. Wait an extra ten, watch for the next round from him to confirm location, and fire. As mentioned above, you are support, you can't (normally) carry the team. You must judge overall how you can reinforce the power of your team's tanks. I suggest forgetting about any stats other than win rate.