Questions

How to play Shadow of Mordor on a Mac with a controller

Feral's Mac version of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor supports gamepads. Its FAQ lists the pads Feral tested, with the PS4 and PS3 DualShock, the Xbox One controller on a USB cable and Logitech's F310, F510 and F710 among them. Feral's manual gives a menu for the keyboard: Options, Keyboard & Mouse.

I have not tested Shadow of Mordor myself, so the facts and the default keys are from Feral's FAQ and manual for it, which I read on October 7, 2026. If your pad does nothing in the game, InputConfig, the free mapper I make, sends the game's keyboard and mouse controls from the pad.

On this page: 9 sections

1. Steps
2. Start with the game's own gamepad support
3. If the pad does nothing
4. Send the game its keys instead
5. Build the layout
6. Change the layout
7. Use one route, not both
8. The short version
9. Questions

Steps

1. Connect the controller and check it under System Settings, Game Controllers.
2. Quit the game, wake the controller, and open the game again.
3. In Steam, try the game's Steam Input override both ways.
4. If the game still ignores the pad, send its keyboard and mouse controls from the pad with a mapper.

Start with the game's own gamepad support

Connect the pad before starting the game. Feral's FAQ lists the gamepads it tested, the PS4 and PS3 DualShock, Xbox 360 controllers, the Xbox One controller on a USB cable, and Logitech's F310, F510 and F710 among them. It says to write to its pad support address about a gamepad that is not on the list. Newer pads such as the PS5 DualSense are not listed. If you have a PS4 DualShock, use it, because it is on Feral's tested list and it connects to a Mac with no driver. How to connect a PS4 controller to a Mac has the steps.

InputConfig is completely 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.

If the pad does nothing

1. The Mac sees the pad. Open System Settings, Game Controllers, and press a button.
2. Relaunch with the pad awake. Quit the game, press a button on the controller, and open the game again.
3. Flip the Steam Input override. In the Steam library, right-click the game, open Properties, then Controller, and try the other setting.
4. Set a Logitech pad to D. Feral's FAQ says the game needs DirectInput mode, the D position on an F310, F510 or F710.

If nothing lights up there, Shadow of Mordor has no chance of seeing the pad either. Controller works in Steam but not in the game has more on the Steam layer.

Send the game its keys instead

Shadow of Mordor plays fully on a keyboard and mouse, and a keyboard is never undetected. InputConfig reads your controller and sends those keys and mouse moves, so Shadow of Mordor sees a keyboard while you hold the pad. These are the default keys from Feral's manual:

Strike and counter are the two mouse buttons, and the rest are single keys.

Build the layout

• You: In InputConfig, make a new preset. Set the left stick to WASD and the right stick to mouse movement.
• InputConfig: Sends those keys and mouse moves while the preset is active.
• Check: In the game, the left stick walks and the right stick turns the camera.

• Face buttons. The left mouse button to strike, the right to counter, Space to dodge and E for the wraith stun.
• Shoulders. Control to grab and Shift for the ground execution.
• Stick clicks. V for the wraith world and F for an execution.
• D-pad. R, T and X for the wraith abilities, and M for the map.

Counter belongs on a face button, since the combat is built on answering the prompt in time. Play any Mac game with a controller walks through a layout like this, and your first preset has the basics.

Change the layout

Feral's manual gives a menu for the keyboard: Options, Keyboard & Mouse. A layout sent from a mapper is yours to edit: move a button, swap the triggers, or put a second action on a hold. A keyboard layout sent from the pad is yours to edit, so you are not limited to the layout the game ships with. Hold and double tap covers the second action.

Use one route, not both

If Shadow of Mordor does read your controller, a mapper sending keys at the same time makes every press arrive twice. So pick one route. In InputConfig, a preset tied to the game only runs while that game is in front. If Shadow of Mordor already reads your pad, you do not need a mapper at all. Per-app switching sets that up.

The short version

• Tested pads. PS4 and PS3 DualShock, Xbox One on USB, Logitech pads, by Feral's FAQ.
• Not working. Game Controllers, relaunch, Steam Input override.
• Fallback. Keys and mouse sent from the pad.

Try your pad first, and if Shadow of Mordor will not listen, send it keys instead.

Questions

Related

• Play any Mac game with a controller
• Controller works in Steam but not in the game on a Mac
• How to play Sleeping Dogs on a Mac with a controller
• How to play Mad Max on a Mac with a controller
• How to play Tomb Raider on a Mac with a controller
• Per-app profiles that switch by themselves

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 October 7, 2026