Artillery

Artillery. The class of vehicles a group of players in this game has a common hatred on. The class even the best players struggle just to deal with.
So. Without furthere do, let's get into it. I, maybe not top player or anything, but I do have experience in dealing with artillery. So, I will on the sides in this chapter, share my knowledge on how to handle artillery in the heat of the battle.

In order to be able to deal with artillery, there are a few things you can do. The best recommendation is if you can, pay attention to the artillery being on your team. Where do they take position on the map? Try those positions out, when you get to play your own artillery.

Being an ally, of artillery, does also have some requirements for you as a tanker. And again, by meeting the class, you will by getting to play it yourself, know where it can reach on the map and where it can't.

Popular artilleries are the British FV304, known as "Bert The Avenger", the M44, which is a tier 6 American artillery, the tier 5 premium French artillery, the lefH18b2, which is known with names like; "The leafblower, the lefe-fe-fe-fe-fe....", and in the facebook group WOTartyNoobs, we call it "Fifi la pew pew" Each nation, has their strengths in the line of artillery. The American has a rather good splash radius, which enables you to just fire beside your target, and still deal some damage and stun the target with a bit of luck (more than bad luck if you don't happen to stun an enemy target), some of those are reasonable mobile as well. The French has the least splash radius and most are rather mobile, espeically the tier 6 French artillery, the AMX 13 F3 and just like the three high tier "heavy tanks" originally in the french tech tree, the tier 10 French artillery is also an autoloader. Like it's tanks, the German artillery is at least in the higher tiers big boxes on tracks. There has ben nerfs over time, but the German artilleries had a decent accuracy earlier. 
I haven't been playing the soviet artillery much myself, but I was recommended against the tier 7 the S-51. Although, like with the KV-2, there are times where the S-51 is a beast to meet.
BUT! Unlike the KV-2, and the myth being about the gameplay of this tank, you do have to aim, and let the aiming circle dial in properly, before you can even get to fire, as if you snap a shot off, you will be more likely to miss your shots. And artillery, doesn't have the highest amount of shots or the fastest reload and aiming times.
So, when it seems as if the artillery just sits there, it most likely will be either aiming in on a target or loading after a fired shot.

The artillery is a class of vehicles shooting from a distance. Way longer distance, than the sniping tank destroyers. What most players see, is that the tank sits far back of the map, and "just clicks" every now and then. But, by playing the class yourself, you as a player will grow wiser on what actually does happen behind the surface and beyond what meets the eye.

For example, if you don't move between every shot, or every alternate shot, you won't be lasting very long in battle. Enemy artillery will be doing counter battery fire on you, when you fire. Counterbattery fire, is when the tracer coming from an artillery, gets used to the position. We get further in to that, later. 
 

You are more safe in some bushes in the corner, than you would be, still in the corner, but in a more open spot. Start off by taking a position in the back of the map, and try to notice where you can reach, when you go into your snipermode, on your shift key or mousewheel. 

When I got taught into playing world of tanks, one I was playing with, could by simply being hit by artillery say, "ok, then they are positioned, there and there" (on the map). For him being able to say that, he was aware of where you could reach from which positions, on which sides of which maps. He was playing artillery himself, and there was things he knew from his gameplay in artillery, he took along with him in other classes. He was one of those more than rare unicums who DIDN'T have a problem with artillery. He adjusted his gameplay to the question whether there was artillery in play or not.

Difference on sniper-mode between arty and other tanks

Snipermode in lighttank, medium-, heavy tank and tankdestroyer.
The red outline, (to those who should be brand nw and unfamiliar with the game) tells that the tank aimed at, is an enemy tank

Snipemode in artillery.
Now, here is something to pay attention to. The green dots shows that the artillery is loaded and ready to fire, but the gray aiming line tells us that the position we're aiming at, is out of our reach. If tanks are here, the shells we fire won't be landning here, even without impacts from RNG.

Read the lines

As an arty player, you get a lot of information, from your artillery. Some of it, by the aiming lines alone. Once you can read those information, you would be able to tell if the shot is worth taking or not. Artillery doesn't have a massive load out of shots to begin with, so the shots fired, has to count, in order for you as a player to get the most benefit out of it.

Here will be a picture of a green line. The shot should be good to go and free of obsticles in the way. Fire!
 

-But have in mind, that RNG might be triggering you. So even with perfectly aimed shots, you can risk that the shot even goes to the next map!

You can also have situations where you get to see a red aiming line. In most cases, there will be obsticles in the way and your shot won't land here, where you're aiming.

Last option is a gray aiming line. This option you will get to see when you're on mostly low tier artillery, or on some of the British or French Artilleries. The gray line, tells you that the shell won't be landing at this spot. The targets will be outside of your reach and you will have to move closer in order to be able to hit targets in this location.

Patience is a skill

When you play artillery, you have to learn to be patient. Artillery has longer reload times and aiming times, than other tanks in the game. And the strategic level, in artillery is higher. You have less shots at your disposal, and very high RNG ratings going against you, due to years of complaints from other players, and constant also non-announced nerfs from Wargaming. 
Some players would say that playing artillery doesn't require any skills. But that is so far from being true, as could ever be. You have to adjust your aiming to targets on the move. And you are very dependent on your allies spotting for you, when you play artillery. Just as well as there is good and bad players of other tanks, there is also good and bad players of artillery.

Never suicide in arty!

It is a belief and an imagination amongst some players that artillery suicide, when left alive as the last one on the team. But that is as disgraceful as can ever be! By doing so, you deny the enemy team a kill, along with yourself a potential more shot of damage, and maybe even the option of taking one enemy tank with you in the fall.

It is far better if you keep fighting even though your other allies have fallen and then get the best possible out of the situation you're given. 

You did after all click "battle" yourself in the first place.

Once you're playing in your artillery, and taken position, you meet situations where you aim in on an enemy tank. You can tell your team, that you're aiming in on this specific enemy tank, by typing the t-key. I have metioned this earlier in the webguide as well. You hover your mouse on the tank and type your t-key. That will then post a message to the chat, saying: "Aiming at..."
Then, it will be up to your allies to spot, when the time is ready, as the message in the later updated versions of the game have given a timer as well, for when you're ready to fire at the targets.
When you're using this option, it is called that you "mark the target" or "t-mark the target". Besides the message in chat, the marked tank, will have three Vs above it, sort of like "on each other", plus the ground being t-marked around the tank will be marked with three line-dotted circles.

Another thing you can tell your team, is that you're reloading. Quite some players, of other tanks, think that arty just sits there in the back of the map doing nothing, when the crew on your artillery is more than busy. You can tell your team that you're reloading by typing the function-key, F8. When you type this key, depending on the situation, two different messages will appear in the chat. If you really are reloading, it will be saying: "...Reloading..." and a timer for how long there will be left for the process to finish. But if you are relaoded, it will, just like other tanks say:" Ready to fire".

Earning XP in artillery by stuns

Another thing you have to be paying attention to, is the way the artillery earns XP. Unlike other tanks in the game, the artillery earns most XP from the assisted stun-damage. The mechanic about that, works so the tanks you have fired at, does get a stun, on about 15-16 seconds at most. (That is, at least the highest numbers I have seen it counting down from). You can recognize a stun, by a orange-yellowish timer, counting down above an enemy tank. While this timer is counting down, if allies shoot at that target, you get SOME of those XP. (The ones dealing the damage will of course get the xp either way for the damage done). 
Due to this mechanic, I have begun too look for targets having this stun-mark on them and go for them first, as I know how ungrateful the gameplay of the artillery is and how unfair it is treated. Should you be missing a shot, in most cases, you at least stun an enemy tank or two, if they're parked too close to each other.

Being an ally to artillery

But how do you act when you have artillery on the team? Well, artillery depends on you spotting for it. Because it is so far at the back of the map it is limited how far it can see. All vehilces have a maximum viewrange of 445 meters. (For further detail of the viewrange mechanics and how they work in the game, go watch Wargamings own video about the mentioned topic)

The arty player might be giving you some information, in chat, you as a tanker should be relating to. That could be "Reloading...." or "Aiming at..." if an allied artillery is reloading, it might take some time before it's ready to shoot, and then it is about staying alive for as long as possible untill it's ready to fire and "aiming at..."

"Aiming at..." 
Here it's about to pay attention. Because when an arty is aiming on an enemy tank, it needs of you as a "regular" tanker on the team to lit the aimed target up, which means getting in close enough range to spot the enemy target, being aimed at by artillery, WITHOUT taking too much damage yourself. The marking itself, will be with three sort of V's on the target being aimed at, and there will be some line-dotted circles on the ground. Those rings marks the distance where the artillery will be splashing and potentially stunning allies, if they go within these ranges.
So, close enough to spot, but not as close as you take damage and potential getting stunned. The artillery will be punished for YOUR mistake.