Let me state clearly that I do not consider myself to be an expert, or better player than others. Those who have fought with me know that I can be routed easier than Elmo (J/K my Muppet Brother).

But there are times when I look over and see my teammate, usually someone I have never seen before online, with 6 V1 Italian Infantry in columns, no Pavs, and 4 V3 Chiv Knights in wedge formation.

My tendency is to offer advice, and gauge the person's attitude. If they tell me to go cram walnuts, then I rarely bother trying to help them. Sometimes they seem genuinely interested in advice, and then I try to help them get through the game and offer to maybe go play a little 1v1 afterwards (not only to help them but so I can actually have a shot at winnig a 1v1).

Usually they are somewhere in between eager and obnxoious, with enough info to fight a little but lacking in the detailed knowledge. So helping them is tricky - don't want to seem like an arrogant know-it-all, but maybe a little help and leadership can win the battle and help a new player learn the game (maybe stick around for a while).

What do you do?

ichi