Running the WildStar client on a Mac

Status: Untested. macOS runs the Windows client via Wine, a compatibility layer, with DXVK translating its Direct3D 11 graphics, and the Bezgelor launch script, tools/macos/wildstar-wine.sh, starts it and connects it to Bezgelor. The steps below use this open-source route. CrossOver, a commercial product built on Wine, is an alternative the project also helps with; Apple's Game Porting Toolkit is a third option (see Routes compared). The approach is the one used by the Linux launch script, which has been tested on Arch Linux with Intel graphics (Linux client guide). This configuration has not yet been tested. If you have a Mac, please follow the steps below and report the results with the Tester checklist. Details that are most likely to need correction are marked (unverified).

You need your own, installed WildStar client (the folder that contains Client64/WildStar64.exe). Bezgelor does not distribute it, and nothing on this page downloads it.

Setup

An installer script for this platform is planned. Until then, the steps are manual. They are for the open-source route; for CrossOver, do steps 1 to 4 and then follow CrossOver.

1. Check your Mac. Apple menu, About This Mac. Note:

   • Chip: Apple M1, M2, M3 or M4 (Apple silicon), or Intel.
   • macOS version. CrossOver 27 and the Game Porting Toolkit need macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later.
   • Memory: 16 GB or more is recommended.
   • Free disk space: the client takes 14 GB or more; allow 40 GB in total for Wine, the prefix and logs.

2. Install Rosetta 2, the command line tools and Homebrew. On Apple silicon, Wine runs under Rosetta 2:

   softwareupdate --install-rosetta --agree-to-license     # Apple silicon only
   xcode-select --install                                  # python3 and git

   Then install Homebrew as shown on https://brew.sh.

3. Copy the client to a folder that iCloud does not sync (Desktop and Documents may sync), for example ~/WildStarClient. Check it:

   ls ~/WildStarClient/Client64/WildStar64.exe

4. Get the Bezgelor project:

   git clone https://github.com/Bezgelor/bezgelor.git ~/bezgelor

5. Install Wine from Gcenx's builds, which include MoltenVK and the Vulkan loader:

   brew install --cask --no-quarantine gcenx/wine/wine-stable
   find /Applications -name 'wine' -type f -path '*bin*' 2>/dev/null | head

   The second command prints the path of the Wine program. The build installs a Wine Stable.app in /Applications (unverified). If the stable build fails, the wine@devel cask has the newer WoW64 mode.

6. Create a Wine prefix, with the path printed in step 5 in place of the example:

   export WILDSTAR_WINE="/path/to/wine"
   export WILDSTAR_PREFIX="$HOME/wildstar-wine"
   WINEPREFIX="$WILDSTAR_PREFIX" WINEARCH=win64 "$WILDSTAR_WINE" wineboot -i

   If this fails with an unknown WINEARCH on a WoW64 build, run it again without WINEARCH=win64.

7. Add DXVK. Download a release of DXVK-macOS from https://github.com/Gcenx/DXVK-macOS (Releases), unpack it into a new, empty folder, and copy only the 64-bit DLLs (the x64 folder: d3d11.dll, dxgi.dll, d3d10core.dll) into $WILDSTAR_PREFIX/drive_c/windows/system32. Then set Wine to use them:

   WINEPREFIX="$WILDSTAR_PREFIX" "$WILDSTAR_WINE" reg add 'HKCU\Software\Wine\DllOverrides' /v d3d11 /d native /f
   WINEPREFIX="$WILDSTAR_PREFIX" "$WILDSTAR_WINE" reg add 'HKCU\Software\Wine\DllOverrides' /v dxgi /d native /f
   WINEPREFIX="$WILDSTAR_PREFIX" "$WILDSTAR_WINE" reg add 'HKCU\Software\Wine\DllOverrides' /v d3d10core /d native /f

8. Start the game:

   cd ~/bezgelor
   WILDSTAR_WINE="/path/to/wine" WILDSTAR_PREFIX="$HOME/wildstar-wine" WILDSTAR_CLIENT_DIR="$HOME/WildStarClient" \
     DXVK_HUD=fps,devinfo tools/macos/wildstar-wine.sh bezgelor.com

   For another server, put its address in place of bezgelor.com. The overlay shows the frame rate and a "Vulkan: MoltenVK" device line, which confirms that DXVK is in use. The client asks for its language and shows the user agreement. Read it and accept it, then log in with your Bezgelor account.

Routes compared

The client is a Windows program, so on a Mac it runs inside Wine, with Direct3D 11 translated to Metal (directly, or through Vulkan on Metal). The routes differ in what does the translation:

A Whisky-style app is not recommended: the original Whisky was archived in May 2025 and its runtime download no longer works (a community fork, frankea/whisky, exists but is unproven). A virtual machine (Parallels, UTM) running Windows is a last resort and is not covered here.

No published report of WildStar running on a Mac with any of these routes was found. The client is a plain Direct3D 11 game without kernel anti-cheat, and the same build runs on DXVK on Linux.

Expected performance (unverified): CrossOver is likely the fastest on Apple silicon. The open-source route is expected to be playable on Apple silicon, with some overhead from MoltenVK. Intel Macs with weak integrated graphics are likely to perform poorly.

DXMT

DXMT (https://github.com/3Shain/dxmt, LGPL) is an open-source alternative to DXVK on Apple silicon. It translates Direct3D 11 straight to Metal and is expected to be faster than DXVK over MoltenVK (unverified). It is a young project and needs a Wine build it supports; see its wiki and status page first. Try it only after DXVK has worked or failed, and report which.

CrossOver

1. Download CrossOver from https://www.codeweavers.com/crossover (Mac version), start the trial and move it to Applications. If macOS asks, allow it under System Settings, Privacy & Security. Note the version.

2. Create a 64-bit bottle named WildStar (CrossOver, Bottle, New Bottle, Windows 10 64-bit; CrossOver 27 has no 32-bit bottles). Keep the default graphics setting (D3DMetal); try DXMT second.

3. Start the game:

   cd ~/bezgelor
   export WILDSTAR_WINE="/Applications/CrossOver.app/Contents/SharedSupport/CrossOver/bin/wine"
   export WILDSTAR_WINE_ARGS="--bottle WildStar"
   export WILDSTAR_PREFIX="$HOME/Library/Application Support/CrossOver/Bottles/WildStar"
   export WILDSTAR_CLIENT_DIR="$HOME/WildStarClient"
   tools/macos/wildstar-wine.sh bezgelor.com

   If the wine path differs in your version, find it with find /Applications/CrossOver.app -name wine -type f. The path and the --bottle option are (unverified).

4. Without the script: create the starter program, link the client into the bottle, and run the starter from CrossOver:

   python3 -I tools/linux/mkstart.py ~/wildstar-start.exe \
     'C:\Program Files (x86)\NCSOFT\WildStar\Client64\WildStar64.exe' \
     '/auth bezgelor.com /authNc bezgelor.com /lang en /patcher bezgelor.com /SettingsKey WildStar /realmDataCenterId 9'
   mkdir -p "<bottle>/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/NCSOFT"
   ln -s ~/WildStarClient "<bottle>/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/NCSOFT/WildStar"

   In CrossOver, choose the bottle, Run Command, and browse to wildstar-start.exe. If the dialog has a working folder field, set it to the client's Client64 folder.

Game Porting Toolkit

D3DMetal is Apple's closed-source library; using it means accepting Apple's licence. Gcenx publishes a Wine build that includes it (latest seen: 3.0-3; Apple silicon, macOS 14 or later).

1. After steps 1 to 4 of the setup:

   brew install --cask --no-quarantine gcenx/wine/game-porting-toolkit
   find /Applications "$HOME/Applications" /usr/local /opt/homebrew -name 'wine64' 2>/dev/null | head

   The cask is expected to install a Game Porting Toolkit.app and a gameportingtoolkit script (unverified).

2. With the wine64 path from step 1:

   cd ~/bezgelor
   export WILDSTAR_WINE="/path/to/wine64"
   export WILDSTAR_PREFIX="$HOME/wildstar-gptk"
   WINEPREFIX="$WILDSTAR_PREFIX" "$WILDSTAR_WINE" winecfg      # choose Windows 10, then close it
   export WILDSTAR_CLIENT_DIR="$HOME/WildStarClient"
   MTL_HUD_ENABLED=1 WINEESYNC=1 tools/macos/wildstar-wine.sh bezgelor.com

   MTL_HUD_ENABLED=1 shows Metal's overlay. Messages about a missing d3d11.dll or D3DMetal.framework mean the toolkit's libraries are not where this Wine looks for them (Whisky's manual fix copied them next to the Wine program). Include the messages in your report.

Controls on a Mac

The game uses keyboard and mouse, as on a PC. Mac-specific settings:

• Function keys act as media keys by default. Hold fn, or turn on System Settings, Keyboard, "Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys".
• Mission Control and Spaces use Control+Arrow keys and F3, and Spotlight uses Command+Space. Turn those shortcuts off (System Settings, Keyboard, Keyboard Shortcuts) or rebind them in the game.
• Command and Control. Wine maps Command to Control for some shortcuts and not for others. Use the game's Control key bindings and report differences. CrossOver has a bottle setting for this mapping.
• Right mouse button. WildStar turns the camera with right-click-drag. A mouse works best; on a trackpad, set up secondary click (System Settings, Trackpad).
• Mouse acceleration. macOS applies its own acceleration curve, which makes turning less precise. Lower the tracking speed in System Settings, Mouse, for the session.
• Full screen or windowed. Start windowed. On a display with a notch, full screen may place the picture under the notch or the menu bar; a window smaller than the screen height avoids this. Change the size in the game's graphics options once you are in.
• The first Wine window may open behind other windows. Select its Dock icon.

Troubleshooting

• The retail launcher appears, or a large copy starts. The /auth start or the install-folder link is wrong. Delete the real folder Program Files (x86)/NCSOFT/WildStar in the prefix, if there is one, and run the script again.
• The window closes after the user agreement. See the 32-bit case in the Linux client guide. Check <client>/NcPlatform.log and <client>/Errors/, and include the last lines in your report.
• Black window or crash at start. Try another graphics layer (DXVK, DXMT, D3DMetal), and report the result of each.
• "Apple could not verify" or "the app is damaged". Allow it under System Settings, Privacy & Security. The casks use --no-quarantine to avoid this.
• Antivirus flags Gcenx's Wine builds. These are known false positives (the builds are cross-compiled with MinGW).
• No python3. Run xcode-select --install.

How it works

Two requirements of the client apply on every platform; the launch script handles both:

1. The command line must start with /auth. WildStar64.exe reads the first word of its command line as /auth. Every Wine launch method (wine start, wine program.exe args, CrossOver's Run Command) puts the program name first, so the client falls back to the retail launcher and never reaches the server. The fix is a small starter program, wildstar-start.exe, written by tools/linux/mkstart.py (plain Python 3, no compiler), that starts the client with exactly /auth <server> /authNc <server> /lang en /patcher <server> /SettingsKey WildStar /realmDataCenterId 9.
2. The client must be in C:\Program Files (x86)\NCSOFT\WildStar. Started from anywhere else, it hands over to the 32-bit retail launcher, which copies 14 GB and contacts the original service. The script makes that folder in the Wine prefix a symlink to your client folder.

The script writes ~/.local/share/bezgelor/wildstar-start.exe and starts it from the client's Client64 folder.

32-bit code

• The starter and WildStar64.exe are 64-bit Windows programs, and the starter skips the 32-bit retail launcher. The game itself is therefore expected to need no 32-bit code and no 32-bit DXVK DLLs (unverified), which is why only the 64-bit DLLs are installed.
• macOS has not run 32-bit code since Catalina (2019). Wine runs 32-bit Windows programs through WoW64 (32-bit code inside a 64-bit process), so no 32-bit macOS libraries are needed.
• The open question: on Linux, the first-run language and user agreement dialog runs in the 32-bit Wildstar.exe, and on a system without the 32-bit libraries the client closes right after the agreement is accepted. Whether this step works through Wine's WoW64 on a Mac is item 8 of the Tester checklist.

Apple silicon and Intel

• Apple silicon: the Wine builds are Intel (x86-64) programs and run under Rosetta 2; there is no arm64 route for an x86-64 Windows game. Rosetta remains in macOS 26 and 27. After that, Apple plans to keep a reduced Rosetta for older games and Linux virtual machines, so this route may stop working in a later macOS.
• Intel Macs: Wine runs natively, without Rosetta. macOS 26 (Tahoe) is the last macOS for Intel Macs. DXMT and D3DMetal need Apple silicon, so on an Intel Mac the open-source route is DXVK over MoltenVK only, and it is the least certain (unverified). CrossOver 26 runs on Intel; CrossOver 27 does not.

Unverified details

All commands on this page were written without access to a Mac: the Gcenx cask and application names and where the programs are installed, the DXVK-macOS DLL folder layout, CrossOver's wine path, --bottle option and bottle folder, whether DXVK 1.10 over MoltenVK, DXMT or D3DMetal work with this client, whether the first-run dialog needs 32-bit code, and all performance statements.

Tester checklist

This appendix is the form for test reports. Test the open-source route (1) first, then CrossOver (2); the Game Porting Toolkit (3) is optional. Use the same checklist for each route and note the route next to every answer, so that the results can be compared.

Once:

1. [ ] Your Mac: model, chip, macOS version, memory, free disk space, Rosetta installed (setup step 1).
2. [ ] Client in place: ls ~/WildStarClient/Client64/WildStar64.exe works. Free disk space afterwards.

For each route (1, 2, 3), with its Wine and graphics layer versions:

3. [ ] Installation completed; any error text? (Wine build and version; for route 1, also the DXVK version.)
4. [ ] tools/macos/wildstar-wine.sh bezgelor.com runs and writes wildstar-start.exe.
5. [ ] Start: a WildStar window opens (not the retail launcher, and no 14 GB copy).
6. [ ] Arguments: the game started with /auth <server> ... (<client>/NcPlatform.log shows the Bezgelor server, not an address of the original service).
7. [ ] The language and user agreement dialog appears; you accepted it yourself.
8. [ ] After the agreement: does the game continue or close? If it closes, the last lines of NcPlatform.log and the newest file in Errors/. (This answers the 32-bit and WoW64 question.)
9. [ ] Login: the login screen appears and login works.
10. [ ] Character list: it appears, and the models render correctly.
11. [ ] In the world: move, look around, take a screenshot.
12. [ ] Frame rate in a city and in the open world (route 1: DXVK_HUD=fps,devinfo; route 3: MTL_HUD_ENABLED=1; CrossOver: its own overlay or the Metal overlay), for each graphics layer tried.
13. [ ] Heat and battery: fan noise, temperature, battery percentage used per 10 minutes (plugged in or not).
14. [ ] Input: keyboard, right-click-drag turning, mouse speed, function keys, Mission Control conflicts, Command and Control, windowed and full screen (notch).
15. [ ] Sound; any stutter, rendering errors or crashes over 15 minutes.
16. [ ] If a route failed: where it stopped. Then try the next route.

Include in your report: the answers by route, the first 30 lines of any failing log, the versions and screenshots. Do not send client files.