Helldivers 2 on a Mac with a controller
The Helldivers 2 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: No Mac version, and it is not in GeForce NOW's public game list or the Xbox Cloud Gaming catalog. On a Mac it is a stream from a Windows PC you own, through Moonlight, Parsec or Steam Link.
Yes, you can play Helldivers 2 from a controller on a Mac, by streaming it from your own Windows PC. The PC version's pad support is complete, so let the stream pass the controller through first. This layout is for the stream that will not see the pad: it plays the keyboard game from the controller and keeps the one thing that has to be right, stratagem codes on the D-pad.
On this page: 9 sections
The layout, control by control
How the layout thinks
Stratagem codes are W, A, S and D in the keyboard game, and the D-pad sends exactly those keys.
- Move and look. The left stick walks, the right stick is the mouse, and the left stick click is sprint.
- Fight. The right trigger fires and the left trigger aims. Reload (R) is the left face button, grenade (G) the left bumper, and melee (F) the right stick click.
- Stay alive. Dive (Left Alt) is the bottom face button, crouch (C) the right one, and interact (E) the top one.
- Call stratagems. Hold the right bumper for the stratagem menu (Left Ctrl) and tap the arrows on the D-pad. The D-pad sends W, A, S and D all the time, so outside the menu it walks you too.
- Menus. The map (Tab) is on Create and Escape is on Options.
Hold the right bumper, tap the arrows, and the code goes in the way it does on a console.
Tune it for democracy
- A macro for Reinforce. Reinforce is up, down, right, left, up. On a PlayStation pad, give the touchpad press a macro: a Hold down step on Left Ctrl, a Tap on W, S, D, A and W with about 60 ms before each, then Release. Do the same for Resupply or the 500kg. Some people consider this cheating. The game does not care, and your squad will thank you.
- Weapon keys. 1, 2, 3 and 4 select weapons, with 4 the support weapon. Add them as chords on the D-pad, held with a button that has no other job, so the plain D-pad keeps its code keys.
- A buzz on the dive. Tick Vibrate in the dive row's Options, so you feel every dive go out.
- Push-to-talk on a paddle. On a pad with back paddles, put the voice key you set in the game on one, and talk without letting go of the sticks.
One macro row for Reinforce is the change you will notice first.
If the stream passes your controller
Moonlight, Parsec and Steam Link usually hand the pad straight to the game, and then the game's own scheme is the better one. Leave this preset off in that case: the game would get the pad and the keys, and every press would land twice. Use the game's pad support when the stream gives it to you, and this layout only when it does not.
Helldivers 2 controller support: controller or keyboard
Steam's store page lists partial controller support for Helldivers 2: it plays on a controller, but some parts, such as a launcher, text entry or a menu, still expect a keyboard or a mouse. This layout sends keys and mouse movement from the pad, which can cover the parts the game's own support leaves out. With partial support, a layout fills the gaps the game leaves.
From Steam's listing, checked in October 2026. Every game's listing is in Mac games with controller support.
If your controller is not working in Helldivers 2
When Helldivers 2 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.
- Press a button after the stream has started. A stream only picks up a controller that is paired with the Mac, and a browser shows a controller to a page only after a button press. Start Helldivers 2, then press any button. Streaming from your own PC has its own checks, in how to stream PC games to a Mac with a controller.
- Play it from keys. If Helldivers 2 still ignores the pad, activate this layout. It sends the keyboard and mouse controls Helldivers 2 already reads. The layout works whether or not Helldivers 2 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 Helldivers 2 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.
Helldivers 2 controls: every button and the key it sends
The Sends column is Helldivers 2'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 up | W | Move forward (W) |
| Left stick down | S | Move back (S) |
| Left stick left | A | Move left (A) |
| Left stick right | D | Move right (D) |
| Right stick right | Mouse motion right (speed 20) | Look right |
| Right stick left | Mouse motion left (speed 20) | Look left |
| Right stick down | Mouse motion down (speed 14) | Look down |
| Right stick up | Mouse motion up (speed 14) | Look up |
| Right trigger | Left click | Fire (LMB) |
| Left trigger | Right click | Aim / ADS (RMB) |
| A / Cross | Alt / Option (Left) | Dive / dodge (Left Alt) |
| B / Circle | C | Crouch (C) |
| X / Square | R | Reload (R) |
| Y / Triangle | E | Interact / use (E) |
| L3 (left stick click) | Shift (Left) | Sprint (hold Left Shift) |
| R3 (right stick click) | F | Melee (F) |
| LB / L1 | G | Throw grenade (G) |
| RB / R1 | Ctrl (Left) | Open stratagem menu (hold Left Ctrl), then enter the code on the d-pad |
| Back / Share / Select | Tab | Map (Tab) |
| Start / Options | Escape | Pause / menu (Esc) |
| D-pad up | W | Stratagem code Up (W) |
| D-pad down | S | Stratagem code Down (S) |
| D-pad left | A | Stratagem code Left (A) |
| D-pad right | D | Stratagem code Right (D) |
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 Helldivers 2 run on a Mac?
Helldivers 2 does not run natively on a Mac, and it is not on GeForce NOW. Stream it from a Windows PC you own. The stream usually passes a controller, and this layout covers the times it does not.
Do stratagem codes work on the D-pad?
Yes. Hold the right bumper for the stratagem menu, then tap the D-pad, which sends W, A, S and D, the code keys.
Does Helldivers 2 have controller support?
Partly. Steam lists partial controller support for Helldivers 2: it plays on a controller, but some screens still expect a keyboard or mouse.
Is Helldivers 2 better with a controller or a keyboard?
A controller works for most of it. Steam lists partial controller support for Helldivers 2, so some screens still expect a keyboard or a mouse, and a layout like this one can put those on the pad.
Why is my controller not working in Helldivers 2 on a Mac?
First check the Mac itself sees the controller, with the gamepad tester. If it does and Helldivers 2 still ignores it, activate the Helldivers 2 layout in InputConfig, which sends the game's keyboard and mouse controls from the controller.
Can I play Helldivers 2 on an M1 Mac or a MacBook Air?
Yes, through a stream. Helldivers 2 runs on the other end, on a cloud service or your own PC, so the Mac only plays the video and sends your input. An M1 MacBook Air streams it like any other Mac.
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.
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