The multiplayer campaign in Throne of Darkness is based on a "King of the Hill" style of gameplay. In the multiplayer game, there are four castles of seven samurai, each trying to defeat the minions of the Dark Warlord and overthrow his reign of terror. The Dark Warlord in turn is defended by seven lieutenants.

In a multiplayer game, up to 35 people can play online at one time - seven representing each of the four castles and seven playing as the lieutenants of the Dark Warlord. These lieutenants have at their command the various demons and undead warriors of the Dark Warlord, and can command these creatures in battle. Ultimate victory comes when the Dark Warlord and his minions are defeated by one of the four clans. At this point, the seven samurai that defeat the Dark Warlord then become his minions, and the game begins again.

Within this style of gameplay, there are a variety of strategies available for players to adopt.

• Brothers in Arms:
  Team up with another castle and attack the Dark Warlord en-masse. This has the advantage that players can share resources and work constructively so they don't have to be as powerful as if they were taking on the dark warlord themselves. The disadvantage of course is the end, where only ONE team can kill the dark warlord.
  
  
• The Great Backstab:
  Here, players choose to surreptitiously kill off all the competition from their fellow Daimyo before killing the Dark Warlord. The advantage is total lack of competition, and destruction of all the other clans will allow easier resource collection. Of course the major downside is trying to find the other characters in the world. While a team is playing seek-and-destroy, the others could easily join forces against them as well.
  
  
• Kill them. Kill them All:
  The systematic destruction of everything, then defeating the Dark Warlord. Long and arduous, this style of play is really only for those with plenty of time on their hands, because this could really stretch the game out. On the plus side, this is a simple way for a bunch of friends to hop on and just try out new strategies and techniques.
  
  
• Specialty Alliances:
  This is a subset of the team-up format. Players select groups of characters which are specialized in certain disciplines. Each "group" would have a different specialty, allowing all players to have an emphasis on certain tactics, making customized squads for any situation. Unfortunately this makes for difficult game play if players wish to go out on their own, as backup is provided by the other gamers. Overspecialization is a problem.