So you want to open up your Ashes of Outland card packs and get early play with the Demon Hunter before the expansion launches, that's cool. Here's how you actually go about doing it by creating a Private Fireside Gathering!
- Please note that public Fireside Gatherings are cancelled indefinitely due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Wash yo' hands!
- You can only open your pre-order packs during a Fireside Gathering pre-release. You cannot buy packs with money or gold.
- You'll only be able to play Demon Hunter against the AI at your Fireside Gathering.
Too Long; Didn't Read
Rude! Just kidding. Here's the quick version of this guide.
- Visit the Create a Fireside Gathering page.
- Fill in all the details of your Gathering. Make sure it runs anywhere from April 3 to April 6.
- Ensure you use the "Unlisted" option for your Gathering.
- Success! Good luck with your pack openings.
For a more thorough adventure in creating a Fireside Gathering, keep reading!
Creating your Private Fireside Gathering for Ashes of Outland
We're going to assume that you already have your Battle.net account and that you've played Hearthstone before. Since we've got that taken care of, it's time to head on over to the official Fireside Gathering site! If you aren't logged in, hit up that top bar to do so.
We won't be able to Find a Gathering anymore since they've been disabled due to Coronavirus, but that's okay! The option we want to hit up is Host a Gathering. Upon going to the Host a Gathering page, we're now able to put in our event details!
It doesn't matter what you call your event, the only important thing here is the starting date and the duration. The pre-release weekend runs from April 3 - 6. As long as you host your Tavern during that weekend, you're good to go! Your event duration can be anywhere from an hour to eight hours, though I always choose the maximum just in case.
We're good to go since we're on Friday, April 3.
Next up is the Venue Details. Now, this is where things should feel funny - safety is important. Should I really be putting my address on this website? As long as you are on FiresideGatherings.com, you're on Blizzard's site which means they should be taking care of this information - plus it should already be on your Battle.net account anyway so there's nothing to lose. You'll want to give your Venue a name, which doesn't matter, and then you're going to want to input your address.
- An accurate location ensures you'll get your gathering setup correctly.
- Do not use a public location. Social distancing!
- Your events must be created at least two hours before they are scheduled to start.
We've done it! Ignore the red box, that means we've entered a bad address. One day...
Now, the most important piece of the puzzle, so pay attention. You have two options here; a public event and an unlisted event. Tick the Unlisted Event box. If you were to create a public event, your Fireside Gathering would show up on the internet for everyone to see. It would be a little awkward when nearby patrons showed up at your house. Upon clicking the private option, you'll have to confirm again to make it private.
"Correct, please do not list this event publicly" is what you want to click.
Congratulations, that's all the setup we needed to do! Now just click the create event button and if you filled everything in correctly, you're good to go! You'll be taken to a webpage that shows you the details of your event and where it is located on a map.
If you haven't yet earned the Fireside Brawl card back, you can do so at your Gathering.
Be sure that this event says it is Unlisted in the banner! Ignore my early date =)
Good luck with your Ashes of Outland pack openings. Keep in mind you can't use the cards on regular games until April 7th, but this does let you start theorycrafting the decks you want to play.
What to do at Your Private Ashes of Outland Fireside Gathering
There are several different activities that are available during a Fireside Gathering - and even more with this one!
- Always - Play the Fireside Brawls.
- Outland - Open your Ashes of Outland packs early.
- Outland - Play against the AI with your unlocked Demon Hunter class.
Why Can't I Visit a Public Fireside Gathering
Blizzard announced a couple of days ago that all Public Fireside Gatherings were being cancelled.
Quote From Kurt Ocher In light of the ongoing global health risks associated with in-person gatherings, we are cancelling official Fireside Gatherings for the near future and disabling the ability to create public events. Additionally, any existing public events will be converted to private events.
We do however want individuals at home to have an opportunity to partake in the upcoming Pre-Release weekend, so we’ll be keeping private event functionality intact. Players can register their own one-person event, which still allows the early opening of Ashes of Outland Card Packs the weekend of April 3 – 6, along with a first taste of Demon Hunter gameplay versus AI.
Over the next week we’ll be implementing this transition of currently scheduled events to private status. Thank you all, innkeepers and patrons, for understanding. We’ll see you in the virtual tavern!
Comments
I created an unlisted event, now how do I join my fireside event in hearthstone? It seems it can only find public events in the client?
What Hour does it start (morning or evening)
I'm a little surprised they're doing it like this. It seems like this would be the perfect opportunity to pilot virtual fireside gatherings (i.e., not restricting the group to just your physical LAN). Or barring that: just make everyone natively capable of opening packs and playing AoO cards from April 3-6 instead of forcing them to go through the aforementioned exercise. I'm guessing both the aforementioned would require more software adaptations than they have time to implement, so I will at least give them props for being so proactive and communicative.
Are there any rewards that we can get through the in-Gathering Tavern Brawls, or is the main benefit of this being able to open your packs early?
The main benefit is indeed only early pack opening. Depending on what special brawls they have active though, sometimes they can be fun. You do need at least two to tango though to play the brawls .
Neat! Thank you for the info, Flushyflexer.
No.
Awwwwwww.
I've never got my tavern working. It never shows other people connected, I'll try again.
Do we know if we can get Nemsy out of this "solo" gatherings?
I established a tavern by using a Tablet, Phone, and PC. But yeah it has to be listed for it to work so I'd advise against it but once you do that boom amigo you're set to get good ol Nemsy. But making an unlisted one is a no go for Nemsy, even if you connect all the other "people" it still wont establish
I'll have to keep trying and looking online to have the problem fixed. Thanks!
In order for Nemsy to be obtainable, you need to visit an "Established Tavern" of which this is not.
An Established Tavern requires running a few successful public events first. Not something you'll want to do at your own house.
Hey Flux! I know. I can't even make a basic event, less have an stablished tavern.
I live just across a B&B in a really small town, so I'm using their place to gather the only other friend that knows the game. It's a public/non public tavern, but thanks for the heads up.
Can we still play with other people that are living with us, Or is it solo only?
The UI on the Fireside Gathering site doesn't look any different than it usually does, so I assume other players can still join
The wording on the blue post "one-person event" has me concerned, but I don't see why they'd go through the hassle. To be determined at this time. Public events still haven't been removed from the FSG side so I imagine that will come in next week.