Highball
Which renderer to use
Highball can run each game through three different Direct3D translation layers. This is what the database knows for this title — empty rows are open questions, not failures.
| Renderer | Verdict | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| DXVKDirect3D 9-11 over Vulkan | Untested | no report yet — send one |
| DXMTDirect3D 11 over Metal | Reported | 1 report |
| D3DMetalApple's Game Porting Toolkit | Untested | no report yet — send one |
No dated Highball run yet. When one lands it records the renderer, the engine build and the macOS version it was seen on — which is what stops a verdict quietly rotting. Send one.
Notes
Reported perfect on DXMT on the default engine in the game's DirectX 9 mode. Its DirectX 11 mode does not work for the reporter.
Known issues
The game's DirectX 11 mode does not work, DirectX 9 does
What helps keep the game on its DirectX 9 mode
Why not diagnosed
Provenance
Reported by lucasaarch (highball-db#491, 2026-10-14) as Elsword (INT), Apple M4, macOS 27.2, Highball 0.10.15, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r26, DXMT, recipes vcrun2022, corefonts and steam, rated 5 of 5 after 79 minutes. The report had no app id; 237310 is Steam's listing for Elsword. Not verified by the maintainer.
Before installing anything, it is worth checking whether the game already ships a native Mac build.
Common questions
Does Elsword work on Mac?
Elsword has no native Mac build, but it is reported to run on Apple Silicon through Highball, a free open-source compatibility layer. This comes from community reports rather than a Highball test run, so treat it as a reasonable expectation rather than a guarantee.
Which renderer should I use for Elsword?
DXMT. Highball can translate Direct3D through DXVK, DXMT or Apple's D3DMetal, and the right choice varies by game. The database records DXMT for Elsword. Highball uses it automatically when the game has a row; to set it by hand, open Settings, then Environments.
Contribute a result
This page is generated from an open database. If you have run Elsword on Apple Silicon, working or not, a report takes a minute and fills in the empty rows above. Send a report, or read how the data is put together.