The A4Tech Bloody B950 RGB Warrior Grey gaming keyboard is primarily intriguing because it looks like a camouflaged predator. Its camouflage works especially well now, thanks to modern retro trends. Despite its retro appearance, the keyboard is modern and well-crafted.
Specifications
- Type of switch: LK Libra
- Key response: 0.2 ms
- Key life: up to 100 million keystrokes
- Total travel: 3.5 mm
- Reporting frequency: 1000 Hz/1 ms
- Game caps: 24 PBT
- Backlighting: RGB
- Dimensions: 174×395×39 mm
- Weight: 910 g (with cable)
Video review of A4Tech Bloody B950 RGB Warrior Gray
Market positioning
The A4Tech Bloody B950 RGB Warrior Grey is priced at $63 or €58. Considering the number of reviews I’ve done on premium mechanical models, $63 seems like a completely reasonable price.
This keyboard is far from the cheapest models, but it has its own nuances. So let’s move on.
Package contents
The B950 is securely packed in foam polypropylene on the sides. It comes with a keycap puller, a manual, and a warranty.
There is also a separate set of 24 “gaming” keycaps made of PBT plastic, which suggests that all the standard keycaps on the B950 are ABS. But in reality, the PBT keycaps are already installed, and the set includes spare ABS keycaps.
I should note right away that the keyboard has a detachable Type-C cable. It has a longitudinal texture, but no braid, which I can’t consider a drawback because this is not a mouse where braid is important.
And the Type-C port, by the way, is wide enough to accommodate many of my cables, including 3-meter USB 2.0 braided ones. So, that’s hardly an issue.
Appearance
Moving on. Visually, the keyboard is very cool, simply due to its appearance. I understand that many of you might find the look of SUCH a gaming model unusual. The color palette here is similar to old keyboards like the IBM Model M, but the gray is more saturated.
This is the complete opposite of typical gaming colors, but believe me, there are people who appreciate old-school, vintage palettes. If you don’t believe me, just look at how many models are now designed to look vintage and the prices they fetch. So yes, there is a huge audience for such designs.
The shape of the keyboard itself is also unusual. The A4Tech Bloody B950 RGB Warrior Grey is tilted at a standard angle of about 2-3 degrees. There are also separate plastic decorative elements, so I can’t call this keyboard modest. It is striking, vintage-styled, and very, very cool.
Moreover, the closer you get to the keyboard, the more gaming elements you notice. For example, there’s a large glossy area above the F row, which draws your eye to the single red spot in the gray-white ocean—the button after F12, featuring the Bloody logo.
The shape of the caps is stylized, the legend is stylized. What is also very unusual and interesting is that the keyboard is stylized everywhere, but in two essentially opposite directions. And this, oddly enough, works VERY well.
I should note that the keyboard has drainage holes at the bottom. This suggests that, although it isn’t waterproof, liquids like tea or coffee won’t stay on the switches. It’s also great that the B950 has three cable routing channels, allowing you to run the cable straight, to the left, or to the right. Additionally, it features dual-angle feet—set at 3 degrees and 8 degrees.
Detailed characteristics
The keyboard is 98%, meaning it has 98 keys instead of 104. Don’t be confused by the name; the math isn’t critical here. The keyboard has 4 MB of onboard memory for storing profiles, supports N-Key rollover to prevent ghosting, operates at a polling rate of 1000 Hz, and has switch response times of 0.2 ms. For optical switches, this last figure is quite normal.
The switches on the A4Tech Bloody B950 RGB Warrior Grey are the LK Libra Brown switches. These are proprietary optical switches. There are also Libra Orange switches, which are clicky. The Libra Brown switches, like all “brown” switches, are tactile and linear, with a full key travel of 3.5 mm, an activation point of 1.5 mm, and a actuation force of up to 40 cN (centinewtons). The Libra Orange switches are similar but require 50 cN to “break through” the tactile barrier.
Proprietary software
The proprietary software for the A4Tech Bloody B950 RGB Warrior Grey is KeyDominator3. Surprisingly, it’s relatively new and doesn’t have the aggressive old-school feel of previous software associated with Bloody mice, for example. You can download it from here.
KeyDominator3 combines a highly detailed macro editor, RGB lighting editor, and more. It allows extensive customization of profiles across a wide spectrum, which can then be saved directly to the keyboard’s onboard memory.
Backlighting
It’s interesting that the RGB lighting profiles change accordingly, but with a slight twist. Using Fn plus 1, 2, 3 up to 0 corresponds to separate lighting profiles, which can also be customized within the software. The lighting looks charming, of high quality, and overall pleasant to the eye. It’s worth noting that it’s not uniform—the “gaming” keys are non-transparent, while the transparent keys are brighter on the sides than on top. I find this charming, but it could be seen as a drawback depending on your preference.
One advantage worth noting is the ability to adjust the brightness of the backlight with 10 levels, accessible via Fn + arrow keys. Another neat feature is the dedicated Bloody button that changes the color of the static backlight, while F12 + Fn allows cycling through different modes.
Experience of operation
My experience with the switches is where I’ll begin because I can describe them as “fun,” a rarity for me. They are quiet, press pleasantly, but the stabilizers are noisy, and the feeling from the A4Tech Bloody B950 RGB Warrior Grey is indeed reminiscent of old vintage keyboards. Typing on it is very pleasant, and overall, gaming on it is too.
However, there are two things I will note. The keyboard is tall, and personally, I prefer low-profile ones. However, the switches press VERY easily. You almost don’t feel the press. The advantage of this approach is that once you get used to it, you can type FASTER than on low-profile keyboards. Because that’s how it was for me. Text input and typing accuracy at times accelerated by almost half.
It sounds like the main issue for me remains the noise. You’ll hear the keycaps even without pressing them. The overall sound of typing will resemble more of a typewriter, and this won’t improve much in gaming either. Actually, the cherry on the cake is the combination of modernity and vintage. The sound is in the top video review.
Summary
This keyboard reminds me of my grandpa, who should be sitting in the yard listening to “Radio Ukraine”, but instead he’s at the barbershop, playing Apex Legends and streaming it on Twitch. Its vintage exterior and modern cool features make the B950 one of the most unique keyboards on the market. And if you like loud keyboards, then I recommend the A4Tech Bloody B950 RGB Warrior Grey without hesitation.
What other options do you have? Visually, there are almost none like the Bloody B950; it’s unique. In terms of gaming keyboards that don’t look like gaming keyboards, there’s the Akko 3087 DS Horizon and the Motospeed CK107
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