Not yet found a definitive answer to this anywhere yet (most places I look is just people having difficulty with InputMapper and Steam…)
Does Dark Souls 3 on the PC have native support for a PS4 controller connected by USB? Or does this game NEED to have a 3rd party piece of software installed? (DS4Controller/InputMapper etc.)
Best Answer
PS4 controller acts like a DirectInput controller by default, which is being phased out due to Xinput being superior. While Dark Souls 3 might work with DInput (most games that support controllers also "support" DirectInput) controller, the buttons will be counter-intuitively mapped and it won't be an enjoyable experience.
There is no reason why you shouldn't use DS4Windows with a PS4 controller on PC though, as it emulates an xinput controller while also opening a lot of customization options, like key rebinding including the touchpad, as well as lightbar color change at different battery levels, mouse simulation, etc.