The multiplayer aspect of the game provides Domination and Annihilation modes, during which a player can have as many as 10 squads. During the campaigns, the AI is a better player as it is able to replace losses and send large armies to your base. The Slavs and Teutons have one campaign each. The second part is set in 892 and is dedicated to Rurik, a Varangian chieftain during the Ladoga campaign. Once the tutorial is completed the other campaigns become available. The first part is set during the raid of Lindisfarne's monastery, an event which is sometimes considered the beginning of the Viking Age and which serves as a tutorial. For the Vikings campaign the game is set in 793 and is divided into two parts. The Anglo-Saxon campaign features the likes of Edward the Confessor, William the Conqueror and the Earl of Huntingdon.
The game features one or two campaign scenarios for each civilization. The game features a day/night cycle which changes the way factions play. Ancestor's Legacy offers two game modes: a single-player campaign scenario or a multiplayer game, in which the player can choose to play one of four civilizations: Vikings, Anglo-Saxons, Teutons, or Slavs (the Saladin's Conquest DLC adds a fifth civilization, the Saracens).