u/TaxComfortable9574

Issue: DualSense controller under CrossOver 26.2.0 (Mac Mini M4) running God of War Ragnarök has two modes, and neither gives full functionality:

• XInput (hidraw disabled): Rumble works, but controller shows as Xbox — no PS button prompts, no touchpad, no adaptive triggers.
• DInput + hidraw enabled: Correct PS button prompts, touchpad, adaptive triggers, and trigger haptics all work — but no body rumble at all.

I think the issue is that the Wine's DInput/hidraw backend isn't exposing any Force Feedback effects for the DualSense (confirmed via empty FF effect list in CrossOver's Game Controllers → DInput tab), so rumble commands have nowhere to go in that mode.

Please Help.

>TL;DR: On a Mac Mini M4 (Tahoe 26.5.1) in India, mainly playing old installed Windows games through CrossOver (not Steam) or epic games. Shortlisted DualSense vs 8BitDo Ultimate 2. Leaning 8BitDo if it actually works well, since I want to avoid stick drift. Looking for real-world experience or a better third option.

Hey everyone,

Specs/context: Mac Mini M4, macOS Tahoe 26.5.1 (latest as of now), based in India. I won't be using Steam - I mostly play old games installed from Windows files, run through CrossOver directly.

Here's what I've researched so far, so I'm not asking totally blind:

• Both DualSense and Xbox controllers pair natively over Bluetooth on Mac and are generally well supported. I ruled out the official Xbox controller for now and I'm choosing between DualSense and the 8BitDo Ultimate 2.
• For CrossOver specifically, from what I've read, a DualSense gets presented to Windows games as an Xbox controller under the hood (XInput), so you get Xbox button prompts even though it's a PlayStation pad. Seems to work fine functionally, just a labeling quirk.
• DualSense's main long-term downside seems to be stick drift - multiple people mentioned drift showing up within ~1-2 years since it uses standard potentiometer sticks. A few also mentioned the stick material getting "sticky" over time.
• 8BitDo's appeal is the TMR sticks, which are supposed to meaningfully reduce/avoid drift long-term. But most of the firsthand "it works great on Mac/CrossOver" comments I found were actually about the Pro 2 / Pro 3, not the Ultimate 2 specifically. Nobody seems to have directly confirmed the Ultimate 2's behavior in CrossOver (mode switching, XInput recognition, etc.) - so it might work identically but I haven't seen it confirmed.
• 8BitDo's own official compatibility FAQ says rumble and motion control don't work when paired in native Apple/MFi mode - but that seems to only apply to that specific pairing mode, not necessarily to how it behaves through CrossOver/XInput.

So, given all that - for someone in my exact situation (Mac Mini M4, Tahoe, CrossOver only, no Steam, based in India):

1. Has anyone actually used the Ultimate 2 (not Pro 2/3) with CrossOver on a Mac and can confirm it behaves the same way?
2. Is DualSense still the safer/better pick despite the drift risk, or does it not matter much within a typical 2-3 year usage window?
3. Is there a better option entirely that I haven't considered, ideally with Hall Effect/TMR sticks and no drift, that's actually proven to work well in this exact setup (CrossOver, no Steam)?

If the 8BitDo route is genuinely reliable here, I'd prefer it specifically to avoid drift - just don't want to be the test case for something nobody's actually verified.

Thanks in advance!

https://preview.redd.it/p7991oalo6ah1.png?width=1500&format=png&auto=webp&s=d2a50ff33f03f74a2c62573100bc74f5c9ed9761

>TL;DR: On a Mac Mini M4 (Tahoe 26.5.1) in India, mainly playing old installed Windows games through CrossOver (not Steam) or epic games. Shortlisted DualSense vs 8BitDo Ultimate 2. Leaning 8BitDo if it actually works well, since I want to avoid stick drift. Looking for real-world experience or a better third option.

Hey everyone,

Specs/context: Mac Mini M4, macOS Tahoe 26.5.1 (latest as of now), based in India. I won't be using Steam - I mostly play old games installed from Windows files, run through CrossOver directly.

Here's what I've researched so far, so I'm not asking totally blind:

• Both DualSense and Xbox controllers pair natively over Bluetooth on Mac and are generally well supported. I ruled out the official Xbox controller for now and I'm choosing between DualSense and the 8BitDo Ultimate 2.
• For CrossOver specifically, from what I've read, a DualSense gets presented to Windows games as an Xbox controller under the hood (XInput), so you get Xbox button prompts even though it's a PlayStation pad. Seems to work fine functionally, just a labeling quirk.
• DualSense's main long-term downside seems to be stick drift - multiple people mentioned drift showing up within ~1-2 years since it uses standard potentiometer sticks. A few also mentioned the stick material getting "sticky" over time.
• 8BitDo's appeal is the TMR sticks, which are supposed to meaningfully reduce/avoid drift long-term. But most of the firsthand "it works great on Mac/CrossOver" comments I found were actually about the Pro 2 / Pro 3, not the Ultimate 2 specifically. Nobody seems to have directly confirmed the Ultimate 2's behavior in CrossOver (mode switching, XInput recognition, etc.) - so it might work identically but I haven't seen it confirmed.
• 8BitDo's own official compatibility FAQ says rumble and motion control don't work when paired in native Apple/MFi mode - but that seems to only apply to that specific pairing mode, not necessarily to how it behaves through CrossOver/XInput.

So, given all that - for someone in my exact situation (Mac Mini M4, Tahoe, CrossOver only, no Steam, based in India):

1. Has anyone actually used the Ultimate 2 (not Pro 2/3) with CrossOver on a Mac and can confirm it behaves the same way?
2. Is DualSense still the safer/better pick despite the drift risk, or does it not matter much within a typical 2-3 year usage window?
3. Is there a better option entirely that I haven't considered, ideally with Hall Effect/TMR sticks and no drift, that's actually proven to work well in this exact setup (CrossOver, no Steam)?

If the 8BitDo route is genuinely reliable here, I'd prefer it specifically to avoid drift - just don't want to be the test case for something nobody's actually verified.

Thanks in advance!

https://preview.redd.it/p7991oalo6ah1.png?width=1500&format=png&auto=webp&s=d2a50ff33f03f74a2c62573100bc74f5c9ed9761