Assassin's Creed Shadows on a Mac with a controller
The Assassins Creed Shadows layout is built into InputConfig, free on the Mac App Store. You don't have to make an account, there are no subscriptions, and nothing is locked. Optimized for Apple silicon.
On a Mac: Native on Apple silicon Macs through the Mac App Store, with full controller support of its own. Use it when it sees your pad. Steam sells it for Windows only. This layout is for a controller it does not recognize.
Yes, Assassin's Creed Shadows runs natively on Apple silicon Macs, from the Mac App Store, and it sees the common controllers, so the first thing to try is the game's own scheme. This layout is the fallback for a pad it does not list, and for players who want the keyboard version's free camera under their thumbs. Ubisoft kept the keyboard defaults from Mirage, so this is Mirage's layout with Shadows' names on it, and Naoe and Yasuke share it.
On this page: 8 sections
The layout, control by control
How the layout thinks
- Move and camera. The left stick walks on W, A, S and D. The right stick is the camera, at 18 across and 14 up and down.
- Fight. The right trigger is light attack and assassinate (left click), the left trigger aims a tool (right click). The right bumper sends Shift and right click together for a heavy attack, and the left bumper dodges (Option).
- Face buttons. Parkour up on the bottom (Space), crouch and parkour down on the right (C), interact on the left (E), assassinate on the top (F).
- Clicks. Sprint on the left stick click (Shift), Focus on the right (R).
- D-pad and menus. The tools wheel on up (G), vision mode on left (V), call your companion on right (B), heal on down (H). The world map on Back (M), pause on Start (Escape).
The same buttons climb, strike and dodge for both characters, and the difference is in how the game plays them.
Tune it
- Check the key list once. Open the game's keyboard controls. If a key there differs from a row's note, change that row's output to match.
- Back paddles. On a DualSense Edge or an Xbox Elite, the Smart Preset Maker can fill the paddles with copies of the face buttons. The most useful thing for a paddle in Shadows is dodge: click Scan on a copy of the dodge row and press a paddle, and your thumbs never leave the sticks in a fight.
- Camera. If 18 is too quick at night in a castle, lower the Pointer speed slider on the preset's page rather than editing each row.
- Feel the kill. Add Vibrate to the assassinate row at a low strength. It is a small thing that makes a quiet game feel solid.
Dodge on a paddle is the change that pays off in every fight.
If the game sees the pad
Shadows has full controller support of its own, and a DualSense usually works once it is paired with the Mac. Use that with this preset off. With both running, every press does two things.
Use the game's own controls first, and keep this layout as the backup.
If your controller is not working in Assassins Creed Shadows
When Assassins Creed Shadows does not react to your controller on a Mac, climb this ladder, smallest step first:
- Check that the Mac sees the controller. Open the gamepad tester and press a button. If nothing lights up there, the problem is the connection, and a controller that is connected but not working covers that first.
- Check the Steam Input setting for Assassins Creed Shadows. In Steam, open Assassins Creed Shadows, Properties, Controller, and change the Steam Input override. A controller that works in Steam but not in the game goes through each choice.
- Play it from keys. If Assassins Creed Shadows still ignores the pad, activate this layout. It sends the keyboard and mouse controls Assassins Creed Shadows already reads. Turn the game's own controller option off while it runs, or a press can arrive twice. The layout works whether or not Assassins Creed Shadows ever sees the controller.
Get it in two clicks
- Get InputConfig free on the Mac App Store, open it, and click Smart Preset Maker on the welcome screen.
- Search for Assassins Creed Shadows and pick it. The layout is created as a preset in your sidebar, named and ready.
- Press Activate. Every row can be changed afterwards: the editor's Scan button rebinds any control the moment you touch it.
To check the controller itself first, the gamepad tester shows every button and stick live in your browser.
Assassins Creed Shadows controls: every button and the key it sends
The Sends column is Assassins Creed Shadows's default keyboard and mouse controls, as this layout expects them. If you changed a key in the game's settings, change the same row in InputConfig.
| Controller | Sends | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Left stick left | A | Move left (A) |
| Left stick right | D | Move right (D) |
| Left stick up | W | Move forward (W) |
| Left stick down | S | Move back (S) |
| Right stick right | Mouse motion right (speed 18) | Camera right |
| Right stick left | Mouse motion left (speed 18) | Camera left |
| Right stick down | Mouse motion down (speed 14) | Camera down |
| Right stick up | Mouse motion up (speed 14) | Camera up |
| Right trigger | Left click | Light attack / assassinate (LMB) |
| Left trigger | Right click | Aim tool (RMB) |
| A / Cross | Space | Parkour up / freerun (Space) |
| B / Circle | C | Crouch / parkour down (C) |
| X / Square | E | Interact (E) |
| Y / Triangle | F | Assassinate (F) |
| LB / L1 | Alt / Option (Left) | Dodge (Alt) |
| RB / R1 | Shift (Left), Right click | Heavy attack (Shift + RMB) |
| L3 (left stick click) | Shift (Left) | Sprint (Shift) |
| R3 (right stick click) | R | Focus (R) |
| Back / Share / Select | M | World map (M) |
| Start / Options | Escape | Pause menu (Esc) |
| D-pad up | G | Tools wheel (G) |
| D-pad left | V | Vision mode (V) |
| D-pad right | B | Call companion (B) |
| D-pad down | H | Heal (H) |
Button names follow the Xbox / PlayStation pair shown in the editor, so A / Cross is the bottom face button on either pad. On a Switch Pro Controller the bottom button is labeled B; the mapping still fires on position.
Questions
Does Assassin's Creed Shadows run on a Mac?
Yes, natively on Apple silicon Macs, from the Mac App Store, with its own controller support. Steam sells it for Windows only. This layout is for a pad the game does not see.
Can I use a PS5 controller in Assassin's Creed Shadows on a Mac?
Usually yes, through the game's own support, once the DualSense is paired with the Mac. If the game does not respond to it, this layout turns the DualSense into the keyboard and mouse the game always accepts.
Why is my controller not working in Assassins Creed Shadows on a Mac?
First check the Mac itself sees the controller, with the gamepad tester. If it does and Assassins Creed Shadows still ignores it, change the game's Steam Input override in its Steam Properties, and if that does not help, activate the Assassins Creed Shadows layout in InputConfig, which sends the game's keyboard and mouse controls from the controller.
Related
Completely free. You don't have to make an account, there are no subscriptions, and nothing is locked. Optimized for Apple silicon. Open source on GitHub.
Updated