How to Play Raid: Shadow Legends on PC (Mac and Windows)

Raid: Shadow Legends is a fantasy turn-based RPG mobile game released in 2019 for iOS and Android platforms. However, it can also be played on Windows and Mac OS. In this guide, we’ll examine how to play Raid on a PC and what apps help with this.

Best Android Emulators for Raid: Shadow Legends on PC

Despite Microsoft’s promises, the release of an official Android emulator for their operating system never took place. However, this fact will not prevent you from playing Raid on your Windows PC or Mac. At the moment, there are many Android emulators, the best of which we will consider in this review. For Windows, LDPlayer is more suitable, and for MacOS – BlueStacks because of better optimization.

How to Play Raid: Shadow Legends on Windows

LDPlayer has low system requirements. It will run even on a weak PC. Installing the emulator itself and the game will only take a few minutes. Step-by-step instructions:

1. Download the LDPlayer installation file.
   
2. Select the installation folder.
   
3. Run the downloaded file and click the “Install” button.
   
4. Once downloaded, the emulator will start to customize the performance to your PC.
   
5. To download the game, launch Google Play from the “System Applications” directory on the home screen. On the first launch, you will need to sign in to your Google account or create a new one.
   
6. Enter your email address.
   
7. Confirm authorization using the smartphone linked to this Google account.
   
8. The last step is to accept the terms of the license agreement.
   
9. To install Raid, just enter the name of the game in the search bar.
   
10. Click the “Install” button and wait for the process to finish. Then, use the icon on the home screen to launch the game.
    
11. At the first launch, you can choose to start a new game or use your existing Facebook and Plarium ID accounts.
    

How to Play Raid: Shadow Legends on Mac OS

BlueStacks emulator is the best option for Mac OS. However, you can also use it on Windows if you like it better. Step-by-step instructions:

1. Download the emulator on the official website, choosing the variant for your operating system.
   
2. Run the installer and wait for the unpacking to finish.
   
3. Accept the terms of the license agreement. After that, you will have to restart your computer.
   
4. Bind your Google account by entering your email address and password.
   
5. Find the game in the Google Play store and install it. The download process is the same as in LDPlayer.

How to Play Raid via Plarium

The game is also available in the Plarium Launcher, which contains other games by the developer, such as Mech Arena, Merge Gardens, and Vikings: War of Clans.

The advantage of Plarium is that many promo codes are only available in the PC version. Also, when entering the game from a new device, each player receives a bonus.

Step-by-step instructions for installing Raid: Shadow Legends with Plarium Play:

1. Go to the official Plarium website. Save the installer in any convenient place.
   
2. Run the installation file. Press the “Continue” button.
   
3. After launching, click the “Login” button in the bottom left corner. You can use an existing Plarium account or create a new one to log in. You can also log in using Google, Facebook, Twitch, Steam, and Discord.
   
4. Select Raid: Shadow Legends from the list of games.
   
5. Click “Install”.
   
6. Select the installation path. You need at least 10 GB of free storage space. Then, you can launch the game from the icon on your desktop. During the first launch, all necessary content will be downloaded.

Tips for Setting Up Raid: Shadow Legends on PC

Regardless of the processor brand, virtualization support is required to run the emulator on Windows. The operating system creates a virtual desktop environment that emulates the mobile platform. Intel has this technology called VT-d, while their main competitor is AMD-V. This option can be disabled in BIOS/UEFI so that the emulator will generate an error at startup. To fix the problem, you need to go to BIOS/UEFI settings and activate virtualization. How exactly to do this depends on the model of your computer or laptop, as well as the BIOS version. Look for instructions for your brand of laptop or PC motherboard. Take into account that many older processors do not support virtualization. In this case, you will not be able to use the emulator.

Certain antiviruses, such as Avast! or AVG Antivirus, prevent emulators from working correctly by constantly scanning the virtual workspace. This leads to PC slowdown and frequent emulator crashes. To disable this feature, you need to go to the Antivirus settings, “Troubleshooting” section, and uncheck “Enable virtualization with hardware support”. For the changes to take effect, restart the PC.

When using the Plarium Launcher, all games launch in a small window by default. This is not very convenient. We recommend that you set the resolution to suit your monitor and play in full-screen mode. These settings can be found by clicking on your account avatar in the top left corner and selecting “Options”. Using the same menu, you can adjust the volume of music and battle effects, as well as the graphics quality and FPS limit if you run the game on a weak computer.

If you are playing Raid for the first time, after a short starting cutscene and tutorial battle, you will be offered take a starting hero of blue rarity. The optimal option is Kael. He is versatile and relevant in the middle of the game. Kael loses his Kael only at a late stage. You can also choose Ethel. She is also good, although she is inferior in efficiency to Kael. Galek and Elaine are not worth taking: they will quickly lose their power and will be useless in most game modes.