Wuthering Waves on a Mac with a controller
The Wuthering Waves 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 through the Mac App Store since March 2025, with the game's own controller support for PlayStation and Xbox pads. Steam sells it for Windows only.
Yes, Wuthering Waves plays on a Mac with a controller. Kuro Games released it on the Mac App Store as a native Apple silicon game, and it reads PlayStation and Xbox controllers on its own. If yours works in it, play that way. The combat was designed around a pad's dodge and lock-on. This layout is for the controller it does not see, and for players who want the keyboard version's camera with a controller in hand.
On this page: 9 sections
The layout, control by control
How the layout thinks
- Move and look. The left stick moves (W, A, S and D) and the right stick turns the camera. The left stick click toggles walk and run (Left Control).
- Fight. The right trigger is the normal attack (left click). Dodge and dash (Left Shift) are the right face button, because in this game you press it every second. The right stick click locks on (middle click).
- Skills. The Echo skill (Q) is the left face button and the Resonance Skill (E) the top. The Resonance Liberation (R) is the right bumper and the Utility (T) the left.
- Explore. Jump (Space) is the bottom face button, and the left trigger interacts and collects (F).
- Team and menus. D-pad up, right and down swap to characters 1, 2 and 3. Back opens the utility wheel (Tab), the Home button the map (M), and Options the Terminal menu.
Dodge is a face button, not a stick click, because you press it every second.
Tune it
- Camera speed. Move the Pointer speed slider on the preset's page. It scales the camera rows together.
- Gun characters. Aiming wants a slower camera. Ramp-up on the camera rows gives small, slow corrections for a light push.
- Back paddles. On a DualSense Edge or an Xbox Elite, dodge on a paddle keeps both thumbs on the sticks. The Smart Preset Maker can fill the paddles when you create the preset.
- The Home button. If pressing it brings up something from macOS instead of the map, Scan the map row to a different button.
Dodge on a paddle is the change that keeps both thumbs on the fight.
What players report on the Mac
Reports from Mac players say an Xbox Series pad works except for its View button, and that controller vibration does not work in the Mac version. Neither is something your controller is doing wrong. If the View button matters to you, this layout gives Back (the same button) the utility wheel's key. If the game sees your pad, play on its scheme and keep this preset off, or every press lands twice.
Wuthering Waves controller support: controller or keyboard
Steam's store page lists partial controller support for Wuthering Waves: 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 Wuthering Waves
When Wuthering Waves 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 Wuthering Waves. In Steam, open Wuthering Waves, 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 Wuthering Waves still ignores the pad, activate this layout. It sends the keyboard and mouse controls Wuthering Waves 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 Wuthering Waves 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 Wuthering Waves 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.
Wuthering Waves controls: every button and the key it sends
The Sends column is Wuthering Waves'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 | Left stick left moves with A |
| Left stick right | D | Left stick right moves with D |
| Left stick up | W | Left stick up moves forward with W |
| Left stick down | S | Left stick down moves back with S |
| Right stick left | Mouse motion left (speed 18) | Right stick X turns the camera left |
| Right stick right | Mouse motion right (speed 18) | Right stick X turns the camera right |
| Right stick up | Mouse motion up (speed 18) | Right stick Y turns the camera up |
| Right stick down | Mouse motion down (speed 18) | Right stick Y turns the camera down |
| Right trigger | Left click | Right trigger is the normal attack, left click |
| A / Cross | Space | A jumps, mapped to Space |
| B / Circle | Shift (Left) | B dodges and dashes, mapped to Left Shift |
| X / Square | Q | X uses the Echo skill, mapped to Q |
| Y / Triangle | E | Y uses the Resonance Skill, mapped to E |
| RB / R1 | R | RB fires the Resonance Liberation ultimate, mapped to R |
| LB / L1 | T | LB triggers the Utility, mapped to T |
| Left trigger | F | Left trigger interacts and collects, mapped to F |
| L3 (left stick click) | Ctrl (Left) | L3 toggles walk and run, mapped to Left Ctrl |
| R3 (right stick click) | Middle click | R3 locks on, mapped to the middle mouse button |
| D-pad up | 1 | D-pad up swaps to character 1, mapped to the 1 key |
| D-pad right | 2 | D-pad right swaps to character 2, mapped to the 2 key |
| D-pad down | 3 | D-pad down swaps to character 3, mapped to the 3 key |
| Back / Share / Select | Tab | Back opens the utility wheel, mapped to Tab |
| Start / Options | Escape | Start opens the Terminal menu via Escape |
| Home / PS / Guide | M | Guide opens the map, mapped to M |
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
Is Wuthering Waves on Mac?
Yes. Kuro Games released a native Apple silicon version on the Mac App Store in March 2025. It is free to play.
Does Wuthering Waves on Mac support controllers?
Yes, PlayStation and Xbox controllers, through the game's own support. This layout is for a pad it does not detect.
Does Wuthering Waves have controller support?
Partly. Steam lists partial controller support for Wuthering Waves: it plays on a controller, but some screens still expect a keyboard or mouse.
Is Wuthering Waves better with a controller or a keyboard?
A controller works for most of it. Steam lists partial controller support for Wuthering Waves, 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 Wuthering Waves on a Mac?
First check the Mac itself sees the controller, with the gamepad tester. If it does and Wuthering Waves still ignores it, change the game's Steam Input override in its Steam Properties, and if that does not help, activate the Wuthering Waves 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