Savage 2 combines RTS, FPS and RPG aspects into its gameplay. The game is played with 2 teams (the Legion of Man and the Beast Horde) fighting against each other on a large playing field in an attempt to eventually destroy the durable command center of the enemy team, thereby winning the game. The game is played in rounds, and no benefits carry over from each match, despite the RPG elements present in each match.

Most of the players on each team are "action players", fighting the other teams action players on the field, using powerful third person melee and weaker first person ranged combat. The action players can choose from a selection of unique units to play as, and may earn gold from their actions on the field, which in turn may be either donated to the team, spent on useful items in an RPG fashion, or used to buy more powerful units.