Mac Controller Support

Squatch4x4 · March 2022

I've been in contact with customer support for about a week giving them everything they want, and running every test and screenshot they ask for. They find out I'm using an M1 Macbook Pro and instantly shut down the issue as "Not Supported" on my hardware and "sorry try contacting Apple Mac support about your controller issue".

Can I get a pole of anyone using an Intel based Mac showing these issues? I know this issue has been beaten to death over the years, but maybe if enough people get together and submit claims we can get some traction?

DS4 and Xbox wireless controllers work over Bluetooth, but the button mapping either doesn't work or is incorrect. DS4 works fine over USB, but it's 2022 and why can't Bluetooth work like it does on PC? Also, I can connect my DS4 via Bluetooth to my M1 Mac and play through Stadia via a Google Chrome browser and the controller works great. So it must be my "unsupported" Apple silicon right?

BlueRaven · March 2022

Eso seems to not support controllers on macs at all. (M1 or not.) There has been several threads on the subject. And even though it seems to be extremely easy to implement in the client, they just never bothered.

glocki · May 2022

I used to play this game on Stadia through Chrome on my iMac. So I got used to the controller. Crafting, travelling, chatting is much more comfortable with mouse and keyboard, but for fighting, the controller is much better. Much easier to move around while casting.

On Stadia you can just switch. It is kinda great. Push a button on the controller and the interface changes to controller input. Use the keyboard, it changes back. Even the size of the fonts change automatically.

But all of a sudden I could not start the game in Stadia. So I downloaded the Mac Client... and the graphic quality of the game is much better playing it directly on my iMac. Stadia is working again, but I prefer the native client now. But i cannot get the controller to work. I use a Logitech F310, which is just plug and play with Stadia.

So you say there is no way to get any kind of controller to work with the native Mac client of Elder Scrolls?

NetherClawSr · May 2022

Coming from PS4 I tried the native client on a MacBook Air M1 last year to find it unplayable. Because I wanted to be able to play with a controller I moved to stadia like you and was very happy with that. But after a year I am now into endgame trials and the absence of addons in stadia made me try the steam version three weeks ago.

And this works great with addons and with a PS4 controller. It took a bit of fiddling to get it to work, but I can now switch between mouse and controller in game and have addons. So maybe the steam version is worth a try for you?

Squatch4x4 · May 2022

glocki wrote: »

I used to play this game on Stadia through Chrome on my iMac. So I got used to the controller. Crafting, travelling, chatting is much more comfortable with mouse and keyboard, but for fighting, the controller is much better. Much easier to move around while casting.

On Stadia you can just switch. It is kinda great. Push a button on the controller and the interface changes to controller input. Use the keyboard, it changes back. Even the size of the fonts change automatically.

But all of a sudden I could not start the game in Stadia. So I downloaded the Mac Client... and the graphic quality of the game is much better playing it directly on my iMac. Stadia is working again, but I prefer the native client now. But i cannot get the controller to work. I use a Logitech F310, which is just plug and play with Stadia.

So you say there is no way to get any kind of controller to work with the native Mac client of Elder Scrolls?

You'll need a PS4 Controller (DS4), probably an official Sony controller. And connect it to your iMac with USB and it works beautifully. That's the only controller I've found that works with the Mac client.

I 100% agree using both Keyboard and mouse and controller is a great experience.

glocki · May 2022

Cool, thank you. I will get me one of those!

Squatch4x4 · May 2022

glocki wrote: »

Cool, thank you. I will get me one of those!

There's a setting you need to turn on as well. Look for Gamepad mode and set it to automatic. This will behave like Stadia and auto switch the interface when you press a button on the controller or click the mouse and stuff.

thedavidventer · June 2022

I've been reporting this issue since 2019, along with links to Apple's Developer Documentation on HOW TO Fix it but the ESO devs flat out ignore the issue and support pretends that it *should* be working.

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/520104/gamepad-input-is-broken-in-eso-on-macos#latest

Every time I play, I send a support ticket notifying the devs that the issue is still not fixed, and I include a link to the Apple Developer documentation for the Game Controller framework each time. They simply ignore it.

If the devs ever care to actually do their job and actually support macOS (as they claim); please fix this!

Here's the link (again): https://developer.apple.com/documentation/gamecontroller

harlam · July 2022

edited, as I originally thought my dualsense controller was working, and it wasn't as the triggers dont work properly. Yet another problem controller to add to the list

ajpinton · October 2023

I put down ESO in late 2021 due to issues with Controller support. I reinstalled ESO for the first time and glad to see the controller issue still persists.

This issue is absolutely on ESO to fix. Apple Silicon does not give the same hardware level access to accessories, and ESO needs to retool how it interfaces with controllers. Its beyond me why ESO still publishes a macOS client anymore.

ZOS_Bill · October 2023

As this discussion is now over a year old, we've decided to close the thread. If you still have questions or issues, please go ahead and start a new thread in the Mac Support forum.