A private Holdfast: Nations At War server can make it much easier for a group of friends to jump into battles on your own schedule. This guide walks through the practical path on EphemeralHost: create the server in the browser, choose the slots for your group, start it from the panel or with /start in Discord, and share the address shown in the panel.
Holdfast: Nations At War runs on the Modded tier and starts from 1.19 €/h. You can also check the full per-minute price list. This is a friends-focused guide, not a competitive admin deep dive. It covers getting the server online, inviting people, what happens when everyone logs off, and how billing works.
Why a private Holdfast server works well for a friend group
For many groups, Holdfast: Nations At War is at its most enjoyable when everyone can show up at the same time, get on the same page, and spend the evening in a space that feels like it belongs to the group. That matters whether you plan regular sessions or just want a simple way to gather for a few battles without depending on a public server.
A private server helps because it gives friends a clearer place to meet and play together. Instead of splitting up, waiting around, or dealing with random interruptions, the group has one shared destination for a planned match night or a more casual session.
That kind of setup is useful for different kinds of friend groups:
- a recurring group that plays every week
- a smaller circle that meets only now and then
- a mixed group that wants to organize around whoever is free that evening
It also fits a practical reality: most friend groups do not need a server running all day just in case someone might hop in. The better fit is an on-demand server that you start when people are ready to play and leave paused once the night is done.
That makes the whole idea feel approachable. The server is there for the session, not the other way around.
If you want the game-specific details for Holdfast: Nations At War on EphemeralHost, including pricing from 1.19 €/h and how to join, check the game page for Holdfast: Nations At War.
If you are comparing how private servers work for different group games, related guides like TF2 for friends, CS2 for friends, Valheim for friends, CS Deathmatch with friends, TModLoader for friends, Minecraft Bedrock hosting, public vs private servers, and ARK crossplay on a private server can help frame the choice.
How to create and start your Holdfast server
Getting a Holdfast: Nations At War server ready for friends is mostly a short, practical flow. You create the server in the browser, choose the number of slots that fits your group, and have it ready for the next session. For most groups, those are the only real setup choices needed at the start.
A simple way to think about it is:
- create the server in the browser
- pick the slots for your group size
- start it when people are about to join
- share the address shown in the panel
That keeps the process easy for the person organizing the game night. You do not need to treat it like a big technical project. If you are hosting for the first time, the job is mainly deciding how many people are coming, creating the server, and starting it at the right time.
When everyone is nearly ready, you can start the server from the panel. That is a straightforward option for the friend who is coordinating the session and wants to bring the server online right before the group joins.
If your group is already talking in Discord before the match, there is another convenient option: the same start action can be done with /start in Discord. That fits naturally with how many groups already plan a session, since the host can bring the server up from the same place where everyone is chatting.
Once the server is running, the panel shows the address for the server. That is the detail you send to friends so they can connect and meet in one place.
This guide stays at a high level on purpose. The exact steps to join are listed on the game page, so there is no need here to get into in-game menu paths or technical connection details.
For a group of friends, that is really the whole flow: create it, choose the slots, start it, and send out the address. That is why hosting can feel approachable even if nobody in the group has run a server before.
What it costs and how billing stays flexible
Holdfast: Nations At War starts from 1.19 €/h.
For a group of friends, the useful part is not just the starting price. EphemeralHost uses prepaid credit without a subscription, so you add credit first and then use it for the sessions you actually host. That suits groups that want to play together on some evenings without turning the server into a monthly bill.
Another practical detail is that prepaid credit never expires. If your group takes a break for a while, the remaining credit stays there for the next session instead of being tied to a subscription cycle.
There is also a small starting boost available for some new users: Discord accounts that are at least 30 days old can receive €2 starter credit.
Billing is per minute, which is a better fit for many friend groups than paying for a full month when the server is only needed from time to time. If your group mainly plays on planned nights, that makes it easier to line up server costs with actual play time.
A simple way to think about the cost side is:
- add prepaid credit
- start the server when your group is ready
- use credit while you host sessions
- keep any unused credit for later
If you want to compare prices or understand how per-minute billing works across games, the public price list covers that and includes 19% VAT.
Taken together, this keeps the server flexible for casual use. You are not committing to an ongoing subscription just to keep the option open for the next match night, and you can plan around the times your group really wants to play.
What happens when everyone logs off
When the session winds down, the server does not need constant attention from the host. If nobody is online, it pauses on its own after 20 minutes by default, and the world stays saved.
That saved state matters for a friend group. You can end the night, come back later, and pick up from the same world instead of treating each session like a fresh start.
The idle behavior is also adjustable per server. If 20 minutes is not the right fit for how your group plays, you can set it to:
- 1 hour
- 3 hours
- never
This gives you a little room to match the server to your group’s habits. Some groups are done as soon as the last person leaves. Others take a break, talk for a while, or decide whether to play another round. A longer idle setting can make sense for those evenings, while the default can work well for a cleaner stop after the session ends.
What matters here is the outcome: once nobody is online and the chosen idle time has passed, the server can pause by itself while keeping the world saved.
For a friends-only server, that keeps the end of the night simple. You play, people head off, and the server can handle the pause behavior on its own without turning logging off into another task for the organizer.
Questions friends often ask
Is this hard to run for a small friend group?
No. For most groups, the host just needs to set up the server in the browser, choose the slots, start it when the session is about to begin, and then send the address to everyone else.
That makes it a practical option for:
- a few friends planning one evening
- a regular group that meets now and then
- a larger circle where not everyone joins every time
Do I need a subscription to keep a server available for our group?
No. EphemeralHost uses prepaid credit without a subscription.
That can suit friends who want their own Holdfast: Nations At War server without turning it into a monthly commitment. You top up credit first, use it when you host, and any remaining credit does not expire.
There is also €2 starter credit for Discord accounts at least 30 days old.
Can someone start the server from Discord, or does it have to be done in the panel?
Either works. If the person organizing the session is already chatting with everyone in Discord, they can use /start there. The same server can also be started in the panel.
That gives your group two simple ways to bring the server online right before people join.
Does the server stop on its own after we are done playing?
Yes. When nobody is online, the server pauses by itself after 20 minutes by default.
You can change that idle timeout per server to:
- 1 hour
- 3 hours
- never
This is useful if your group sometimes takes a short break between rounds, or if you want the server to pause soon after the session ends.
What does a Holdfast: Nations At War server cost for a friends-only session?
Holdfast: Nations At War starts from 1.19 €/h.
Billing is per minute, so the cost follows the time the server is actually running. For friends sharing a session now and then, that can be easier to plan around than paying for time you are not using.
Getting your next session organized
Once your group has a plan, hosting the next Holdfast: Nations At War night can stay pretty light. The main job is just picking when to play, bringing the server online, and making sure everyone has the address from the panel.
A simple session checklist looks like this:
- decide who is joining
- choose the slots for that group
- start the server in the panel or with
/startin Discord - share the address shown in the panel
From there, the server fits around the session instead of asking your group to keep it running all the time. Holdfast: Nations At War starts from 1.19 €/h, and billing is per minute through prepaid credit without a subscription.
When the evening wraps up, the server can pause by itself once nobody is online. That makes it easier to treat hosting as something you use for the time you actually play together, then leave paused until the next match night.