OK, I understand what you are trying to say, Luthien, but I experiencED the same problem. I have a friend who does the exact same thing, which is complaining that everything I use against him is cheap. I tell him over and over that it's in the game, so use it, and he won't listen to me. I asked him if he wanted to learn advance techs, and he refused. When this happens, all hope is lost.
Do your best to help him understand this, and suggest to teach him. After this...well...there isn't much you can do. Sorry.
Yeah, that's too true. Once they refuse to learn from you, it's pretty much over. It entirely depends on how seriously they take the game. If they plan on playing once a month, I wouldn't put to much effort into it.
The rest of this is directed at AllanT:
But, you'd be surprised at what taking a break over night can do for the scrub. Hope is renewed, their confidence (or overconfidence) replenished, and they're usually willing to give it another shot. If they don't take outright advice from you, be more subtle. That usually means that you've either hurt their pride or they really just don't care about the game all that much. So, there are a couple of things you can do for the first part:
Don't say it, do it. Show them how it's done. They'll copy and think that they've learned on their own, and they can take pride in that. I know this seems like you're feeding the ego of someone who's not worth it, but come on, who hasn't been like this at some point.
Option two: back it down a tad. Like in my first post, slow it down a bit until they can counter what you're doing. Then, pick up the pace again. They'll naturally improve slowly to beat your improving tactics. Your friend may not even notice he's improving until he has (mine didn't).
Option three: lose trivial arguements. The less, the better. You'll be able to come back to those debates later on in life when your friend is willing to listen to your side. If you let him win, it doesn't matter. Just focus on getting him to improve.
Now, for those of you who don't understand WHY I want AllanT's friend to improve, I'll let you know that there is a method to my madness.
First: the best way to learn is to teach. You may improve yourself as you wait for him to catch up to your level.
Second: You want a challenge, right? At this point in time, your matches are going to have to be about him. However, if all goes well and he DOES in fact change his mindset, he will get stronger and your battles will become far more productive. His improvement is good for YOU too. You are going to have to make some sacrifices, but its truly worth it in the end. You'll both look back on this and laugh... if you stay positive, patient, understanding, and humble.
The point I'm trying to make is, you ARE going to have to cater to him for a while. But he'll see the error of his ways on his own, and then he'll be really embarrased when he remembers how he acted for the rest of his life. He'll mature, I'm sure of it (if MY friend could, YOURS can).
Of course, this doesn't mean we can't help him, even though at one point or another I'm sure we've all johned. It really does depend on how seriously he takes the game.
