Play LoL using a MacOS VM

Posted by Defykouren@reddit | linux | View on Reddit | 85 comments

I was intrigued by u/blitolol's comment about a MAC VM and I can attest that, indeed, it does work. I played LeagueOfLegends using a MacOS VM with GPU-PassThrough. Here are my two cents in the hopes that it might be useful to someone.

I installed MacOS High-Sierra 10.13.6 with my GTX1060. This specific version MACOS is the latest with NVIDIA drivers available. I tried installing MacOS 12.x Monterey and backporting the nvidia drivers with OCLP but I could not make it function properly.

Some sources that I used to make this work:

MacOS on QEMU/KVM. You can install a MacOS vm using QEMU following the tools/instructions provided in this repo.
When installing High-Sierra, I encountered a connection error during installation. In order to initialise the install I followed singleanswer's comment, found here.
In order to make VFIO GPU PassThrough work, I highly recommend BlandManStudios's channel. Through his videos, I made a Win10 VM with GPU PassThrough. For the MacOS VM, I believe that only older NVIDIA GPUs are supported.

This is a lot of hoops for just playing a videogame, I know. Riot's stance, forcing Vanguard onto users is frankly horrible and I understand peoples' sentiment in suggesting other games. Personally, my friends group meets in LoL for some casual ARAMs, and given that I do reside in a different country for studies, I would really like it if I could be part of this hang.

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randomly_chosen_@reddit

Where did You get a MacOS image file?

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Adorable_Television4@reddit

Usually from official backup files

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turdas@reddit

Vanguard will not be required on Mac - we'll have more to clarify on that in the dev article. Mac's are substantially different and we'll share why we are taking a different approach there

-- Riot Brightmoon

I wonder if this is the "substantial difference" they were talking about, and whether they're going to change their mind when this method catches on and people keep avoiding their VM detections on a platform that their rootkit anticheat doesn't support.

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Cry_Wolff@reddit

Maybe they can't use it on macOS because Apple told them to go fuck themselves.

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TechnoRechno@reddit

It's because MacOS doesn't allow hooking into the OS and sitting next to the kernel like Windows does.

For what it's worth, Microsoft has been making noise that they aren't happy about kernel anti-cheat and might be removing the ability in the future to make security easier for them to maintain.

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Adorable_Television4@reddit

If they were willing to do so, they would have done already, then devs would be on need to stop using that shit

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RHGrey@reddit

I know this is 4 months old, but do you have a link to where I can read up on Microsoft's stance on this?

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nightblackdragon@reddit

macOS kernel provides things that kernel level anti cheats used to implement on Windows. For example you can't attach debugger to whatever process you want on macOS.

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turdas@reddit

When you're running MacOS in a VM you can do whatever you want with its memory space though. Evidently it doesn't block this.

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nightblackdragon@reddit

Sure but running macOS on VM is more difficult (e.g. not every GPU is supported) and sooner or later Apple will drop support for x86 so you won’t be able to run macOS VM on your PC anymore.

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Skitzo_Ramblins@reddit

soon = like 7 years or more because old macs that can't update would still be supported for a while surely

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nightblackdragon@reddit

old macs that can't update would still be supported for a while surely

What makes you so sure about it? They killed PowerPC Macs pretty quickly, nothing stops them from doing same thing with Intel.

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Skitzo_Ramblins@reddit

I meant league would still support old mac versions not apple goofy

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nightblackdragon@reddit

They could drop Intel Macs support after Apple, what stops them from doing that? Majority of Mac users already have Apple Silicon Mac.

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Adorable_Television4@reddit

It’s only 6 years since the last Intel Mac model, so I wouldn’t say there are not many intel users on Mac, surprisingly, there are still lots of software that cannot be executed on a silicon processor, many professionals are waiting for their stuff to be migrated.

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Skitzo_Ramblins@reddit

proof?

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nightblackdragon@reddit

Check Mac subreddit for example. Almost everybody have Apple Silicon Mac there.

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Skitzo_Ramblins@reddit

everybody in the mac enthusiast community uses a new mac? cool

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nightblackdragon@reddit

Steam Survey confirms this as well:
https://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey/processormfg/

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Skitzo_Ramblins@reddit

I meant more like, why are they even bothering to support macos if they gonna drop intel support? Just drop mac entirely if they won't port their anticheat. People can still emulate apple arm. League is a low spec game. I wouldn't be surprised if it's mac playerbase has even older hardware.

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nightblackdragon@reddit

Apple Silicon Macs are running Intel applications with pretty good performance. Also nothing stops Riot from making ARM build like some games are doing. You can't also currently emulate ARM Mac and that won't be easy as well because Apple Silicon Macs are using similar security to iOS devices that currently can't be emulated as well.

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elveszett@reddit

Cheaters are not normal users. If it can be done and isn't expensive or time-consuming, then it will be done. Difficulty is irrelevant because anyone willing to cheat can follow a guide.

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nightblackdragon@reddit

You are overestimating cheaters. In most cases they are not some pro hackers, they just regular users who want some unfair advantages.

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Unlostv@reddit

I read through 29k lines(took me 6 hours) just to find my bios flash protection module on my bios to disable it bcuz I was banned from LoL(van152) and there were no spoofers for acers so i had to change the individual serial numbers in hex editor and reinstall windows like 5 times just so I could find what they were tracking. You are underestimating what incells with no life would rather do than actually train their gaming skills

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elveszett@reddit

Unsophisticated cheats that some kid may install can be detected with any simple anti-cheat. If Vanguard was designed for that, well, that's like using an AK-47 to kill a wasp.

People spending $$$ on cheats, or using cheats to profit, will put some effort into knowing how to install them. Again, following a guide isn't hard. You don't need to know how to crack Photoshop to follow a guide to apply someone else's crack to your Photoshop.

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nightblackdragon@reddit

Somebody who spends $$$ on cheats or uses cheats to profit can also deal with Vanguard and other cheats. It will be more difficult but not impossible.

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zombeharmeh@reddit

You are severely underestimating cheaters. Bastards pay upwards of a few hundred per month for undetected cheats in league already lol.

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turdas@reddit

I wouldn't be surprised if Apple didn't want to support rootkits like this, but there is also the practical consideration that it would not make financial sense for them to develop a version of Vanguard for an OS that makes up a single digit percentage of their playerbase.

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Adorable_Television4@reddit

Same goes for Linux, but on Mac they are fine with user-level anticheats

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elveszett@reddit

That last point is not true. It doesn't matter if Mac League players are just 20 players in the entire world - if it can be used to cheat, then cheaters will all move to Mac. Don't forget, anti-cheat doesn't protect you from cheaters, it protects others from you.

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Skitzo_Ramblins@reddit

yeah modern macos is the antithesis of this kind of bullshit. I'm not caught up but I believe they'd either need apple to sign it or tell people to turn off SIP and secure boot and they're super anti kext stuff

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Adorable_Television4@reddit

Microsoft should do the deam same and protect users, that would end the shit out of this nonsense, but what can you expect out of Microsoft….

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vrdz@reddit

topkek

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firesososo@reddit

I have a Issue that the keyboard and the mouse is not getting any input, when trying to install macOS.

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StellaLikesGames@reddit

Leauge of linux is literally no longer possible as they are adding vangaurd to macOS, RIP

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Unlostv@reddit

Aged like milk

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nadal28@reddit

is there any way to do this on windows 10 LTSC?

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Defiant_Sector_4461@reddit

followed this and got it set up. just gotta figure out a way to use my display with something like looking-glass but for macos

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Defykouren@reddit (OP)

Great to hear that you had success working this out. Looking-glass has not client for MacOS, as far as I know, and Sunshine/Moonlight combo does not work either for this older 10.13 version. The only thing I found working is to connect the passed-through GPU with an HDMI and just you this as your input while you game. My set-up is a two-monitor one so one remains in Linux and the other is the MacOS. Sound was also a bit of a problem, so I just talk to my friends through Discord. Cheers!

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Defiant_Sector_4461@reddit

yeah i just toggle the input. how did you figure out fixing your audio? i don't seem to have any hdmi audio options in my settings even though i passed it through. or do you not have audio in league of legends itself?

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Defiant_Sector_4461@reddit

if anyone sees this, open to suggestions of stuff to take looking-glasses place

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Defiant_Sector_4461@reddit

hey! i was curious if you had issues with the gpu not being detected when you're in the macos vm? were you using video qxl to view your display through virt-manager?

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Faranta@reddit

Did this mean you can build and test Mac apps too? I thought that was impossible unless you bought a physical mac to program on.

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NatoBoram@reddit

Yes, but you can't publish them on the stores, you'll need a real Mac ID

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lavjamanxd@reddit

i used a hackintosh for years to develop stuff for iOS and mac. i guess it would be the same running from a VM.

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JocarLixo@reddit

I'm trying to do this on Ventura, but if I try to pass my GPU without the ROM BAR I just get a black screen, and with the ROM BAR I get stuck on boot.

If anyone could help, specs are as follows:

CPU: Ryzen 3200G GPU: RX 6600 8GB OS: Arch Linux

The passthrough and IOMMUs are tested and work fine on a Windows VM, it's just MacOS that keeps screwing with me on this.

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leetleaf@reddit

I have a similar setup and was having the same issue. I was able to boot when I removed the Channel agent within Virt-Manager for the VM.

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murdaboii@reddit

any update? can you still play with vanguard?

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Agitated_Fox_4836@reddit

I wonder if the LoL sub would allow this post

Huh

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Puzzleheaded-Week-69@reddit

I tested it and the mods delete ~~censor~~ everything about Vanguard.

tbh it seems like the mods are paid directly from CCP lmao

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Xbox360Master56@reddit

I do something similar, I have a separate MacOS install (hackintosh) which is 10.14 to play Rust and Fortnite Save The World. I don't like windows and anyways fortnite save the world was ruined later on in more modern seasons. I do not like Windows at all, I am not a great MacOS fan (privacy and such) but I still use it other Windows.

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Business_Reindeer910@reddit

Doesn't this make more sense at /r/linux_gaming

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krum@reddit

Actually no

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Business_Reindeer910@reddit

It certainly makes no sense here since it's about running proprietary software on a propretiary OS.

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slikrick_@reddit

Literally go somewhere else with the proprietary software BS. It's not an issue on this sub, and the mods have made it clear it's fine to talk about Proprietary software on Linux.

This post is about getting software that used to work on Linux, to work on Linux workflows again.

Go piss in someone else's cheerios

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linux-ModTeam@reddit

This post has been removed for violating Reddiquette., trolling users, or otherwise poor discussion such as complaining about bug reports or making unrealistic demands of open source contributors and organizations. r/Linux asks all users follow Reddiquette. Reddiquette is ever changing, so a revisit once in awhile is recommended.

Rule:

Reddiquette, trolling, or poor discussion - r/Linux asks all users follow Reddiquette. Reddiquette is ever changing. Top violations of this rule are trolling, starting a flamewar, or not "Remembering the human" aka being hostile or incredibly impolite, or making demands of open source contributors/organizations inc. bug report complaints.

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pdp10@reddit

/r/macgaming?

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sad-goldfish@reddit

This is cool. If nothing else, this proves that Vanguard on LoL can still be bypassed.

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keZam@reddit

afaik, mac version doesn't use vanguard.

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sad-goldfish@reddit

Yes, this is point. You can run the game on a MacOS VM on Windows or Linux (platforms that would normally require Vanguard) without Vanguard.

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lightwhite@reddit

Windows? Is there a way to pass trough GPU on windows?

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sad-goldfish@reddit

Never tried, but yes, see this.

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Arxari@reddit

You can't run MacOS on a VM tho right?

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SimPilotAdamT@reddit

Have you not read OP's post?

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keZam@reddit

Oh, that makes sense. I interpreted that as macos having vanguard, my bad.

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TheFacebookLizard@reddit

if I'm not wrong the MacOS version does not use vanguard

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sad-goldfish@reddit

Yes, this is point. You can run the game on a MacOS VM on Windows or Linux (platforms that would normally require Vanguard) without Vanguard.

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TheFacebookLizard@reddit

I think it's using the previous user-space level AC and doesn't have priveleges to detect what it's running under

I was thinking maybe after finishing my exams I'll give the tool that's been discussed here previously for translating macos to Linux (similar to wine)

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L3App@reddit

if you’re going to pass trough a gpu, check the dortania guide (made for hackintoshes) for compatibility https://dortania.github.io/GPU-Buyers-Guide/modern-gpus/amd-gpu.html

edit: i should also mention that this is a non-exhaustive list, there are also elitemacx86’s NVIDIA and AMD lists which have more GPUs

but even these are not quite exhaustive, many gpus can work if spoofed for another one with the same chip. Also, if you’re going though the effort of making a MacOS KVM you might as well dual boot it and run in on bare metal with OpenCore

TLDR: antway, Nvidia bad on MacOS even worse than linux, anything after Kepler won’t give you GPU acceleration. Basically every AMD card works on the other hand, but could need a little tuning for newer cards.

I bought a WX 4100 for my MacOS hackintosh partition, works out of the box and is low profile with 4GB of VRAM

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Defykouren@reddit (OP)

Great resource, thanks!

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vkevlar@reddit

anything after Kepler won’t give you GPU acceleration

Not quite correct, the 900 series also gets GPU acceleration, notably the GTX 980 I had in my Mac Pro 2010 :)

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blitolol@reddit

Wow dude i'm so glad my comment inspired this post, great job! , i hope this spreads so Linux league players still have a way to play league without having to use windows or installing a rootkit on their PCs.

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outofstepbaritone@reddit

Why go through the effort of running macOS and not just run windows in the vm…

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Defykouren@reddit (OP)

I mean, sure but I really detest the idea of running windows for the sole purpose of installing something akin to a rootkit. It was my unhinged attempt to keep using Linux for everything!

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6maniman303@reddit

I think the Valorant anti cheat as a kernel level malware can detect if it's running through VM

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natermer@reddit

No video game is worth putting up with a fraction of that level of bullshit.

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outofstepbaritone@reddit

Right i forget it does that. I can see why you would run macos then.

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nightblackdragon@reddit

Kernel anti cheats blocks running game in virtual machines.

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Inside-Computer5358@reddit

League of Legends has a native Mac installer. No need for a VM.

https://signup.leagueoflegends.com/en-us/signup/redownload?page_referrer=index - "DOWNLOAD MAC INSTALLER"

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LwkSto@reddit

I believe OP means a MacOS VM on a Linux machine, as LoL will most likely stop working on Linux for good soon. The Mac version doesn't include the new anti-cheat they're adding to the Windows version, so it'd be possible to play the game on a VM (since the anti-cheat doesn't let you get into the game if it detects you're running on a VM).

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Defykouren@reddit (OP)

Better said than I could have ever expressed it!

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