SteelSeries Merc Stealth Gaming Keyboard

by SteelSeries

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 22.3 x 9.2 x 1.9 inches ; 4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00292OW1U
• Item model number: 64049
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 14, 2004

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

The SteelSeries Merc Stealth gaming keyboard features 34 dedicated gaming terrain keys, making it easier and more intuitive than ever to walk, run, jump, crouch, and move directionally in games. The gaming terrain keys, tilted at an 11� angle, are ergonomic and comfortable even during long gaming sessions. The keyboard features 3 different illumination colors (blue, red and purple), which can be set to 4 different illumination modes (subtle, ambient, intense and off).

Gaming terrain keys are ergonomic and comfortable, even during long gaming sessions

Merc Stealth features 34 gaming keys at a natural tilt to match your wrist position

SteelSeries Merc Stealth supports simultaneous keystrokes and features a number of hotkeys for multimedia, navigation and other one-click controls. The keyboard features two USB 2.0 ports, gold-plated microphone and headset jacks all connected through a gold-plated USB connector. All keys on the keyboard can be programmed with the powerful SteelSeries Z Engine software, allowing for programmable keys and easy to use drag-and-drop macro creation.

Choose from three illumination colors to match your gaming mood. View larger

Illumination Perfect for Gaming in the Dark

The Merc Stealth features astounding three color illumination in red, blue, and purple to match your gaming mood. Choose your level of brightness (Subtle, Ambient, Intense, Off). Illuminated characters on every key make it easy to find what you need during intense all-night gaming sessions.

Z Engine Software To Customize Every Gaming Experience

The SteelSeries Z Engine software that comes with the Merc Stealth allows you to totally control your gaming experience. It makes your keyboard fully programmable with easy-to-use drag-and-drop macro editing for quick customized performance. Z Engine comes with over 125 pre-defined key mapping layouts that you can use to jump quickly into your favorite games, or you can create your own layouts for a gaming experience that's tailored to you.

Dedicated Gaming Terrain: Amazing Touch and Response for Hours of Comfortable Gaming

Featuring 34 gaming terrain keys, the Merc Stealth makes it easier and more intuitive than ever to walk, run, jump, crouch, and move directionally in games. Rubberized movement keys offer superior response. The Merc Stealth is tilted 11 degrees to match your natural wrist position. 34 gaming keys are labeled and positioned for ultimate precision and control during gaming. The simultaneous key stroke response means no need to worry about phantom keys in the heat of the battle.

Rule All Your PC Gaming Peripherals from One Hub

The Merc Stealth has two built-in USB 2.0 ports to plug in mice and other peripherals. Gold plated audio jacks are also available for headsets and microphones. Plus, dedicated multimedia controls give you total control over your media in and out of the game.

What's in the Box

The SteelSeries Merc Stealth Gaming Keyboard.

What the Critics are Saying about the SteelSeries Merc Stealth Keyboard

"Once you adapt and start using the WASD arrangement it's great. It's like using a pad that's specially designed for your left hand! Jumping into the Z-Board control software, the first thing that strikes me is that there is very little 'customising' to be done right off the bat. You let it detect games and go from there. That's it!"
--Tweaktown

"Overall, the SteelSeries Merc Stealth keyboard is a good product that is sure to improve the users gaming experience. The extensive configuration offered by the Z-Engine software is one of the main positives of the Merc Stealth. It is incredibly easy to use and the pre-defined profiles are a good base to work from when configuring our own profiles."
"We would recommend the Merc Stealth to serious gamers who use their machine mainly for gaming."
--Hardware Heaven

Technical Specifications

• USB Hub: Two (2) USB 2.0 prots
• Gold-plated microphone and headset jacks
• Cable Length: 1.8 m / 6 ft
• Connection Options: USB
• Dimensions: 21.1" x 7.9" x 1.1"

Which SteelSeries Gaming Keyboard is Right for You?
	6Gv2	7G	Merc Stealth	Shift
Integrated Media Keys
PS/2 Connection Option
Mechanical Switches
Extreme "Anti-Ghosting"
USB Hub
Gold-plated Audio Ports
Dedicated Gaming Terrain				(w/ optional keysets)
Illuminated Keyboard
Record Macros Directly on Keyboard
Interchangeable Keysets

Product Description

The SteelSeries Merc Stealth gaming keyboard features 34 dedicated gaming terrain keys, making it easier and more intuitive than ever to walk, run, jump, crouch and move directionally in games. The gaming terrain keys, tilted at an 11° angle, are ergonomic and comfortable even during long gaming sessions. The keyboard features 3 different illumination colors (blue, red and purple), which can be set to 4 different illumination modes (subtle, ambient, intense and off). SteelSeries Merc Stealth supports simultaneous keystrokes and features a number of hotkeys for multimedia, navigation and other one-click controls. The keyboard features two USB 2.0 ports, gold-plated microphone and headset jacks all connected through a gold-plated USB connector. All keys on the keyboard can be programmed with the powerful SteelSeries Z Engine software, allowing for programmable keys and easy to use drag-and-drop macro creation.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For World of Warcraft, this is amazing, October 11, 2010

By 

Hugo - See all my reviews

This review is from: SteelSeries Merc Stealth Gaming Keyboard (Personal Computers)

This is review is based on my experience playing World of Warcraft only (raiding, at the moment, ICC 25m weekly including 7-8 hard modes) running on Vista. Since there are more bad comments that I would expect, as I believe this is the best gaming keyboard I ever used (at least, for WoW).

Starting with Con's:

- Learning curve is there and you will not get used to the placement of the keys over night. Took me well over 2 weeks to really "map" the key disposition in my head. However, once i got used to it, it's just amazing. A few highlights of this learning process: getting used to the 2 rows of buttons (1-6, 7-12), learning where's the 3 and where's the 4, you'll mostly likely miss the CTRL/ALT keys available at your thumb (which you will more than likely use only to hit space). With that said, since this is a new approach (at least, new to me) to gaming keyboard, the learning curve was expected.
- The "E" key (something already described on other comments) feels weird during the initial days of use, sometimes it seems to get stuck, sometimes it just doesn't depress as expected. After 1-2 weeks of game play, i believe the internal parts wear off and it starts to feel normal

Pro's:

- On WoW any bind beyond 6 is mostly useless due to the distance to "WASD" (movement keys). This keyboard make them all available to you on a great location. This means that you will use a LOT less "ALT" binds, and, depending on your class, perhaps none.
- Keys that i used to bind to avoid "Alt" binds, such as F, G, C, etc. are all there as well (meaning around 14-16 direct keybindings).
- Since it only remap the standard keyboard keys, it works out of the box, no addons needed.
- Sorry to Logitech on this one, but there's no useless LCD screen to display your stats/clock/whatever (i had a g15 and NEVER EVER managed to use the LCD)
- Cool colors to choose from, or none if you need/prefer

All in all, this is the best keyboard for World of Warcraft that i have ever used.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best keyboard I've ever used., January 21, 2010

By 

Wayne Nelson "LazarusLong" (Indiana) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: SteelSeries Merc Stealth Gaming Keyboard (Personal Computers)

I highly recommend the Merc Stealth to any gamer. First construction. This board is very substantial. Manufacturing quality is high and does in no way feel "cheap". The manufacturer claims it is designed for 10,000,000 keystrokes. Much better than the average 1,000,000-2,000,000 keystroke lifetime of a typical keyboard. And with the feel and heft of this board I belive their claim isn't exagerrated. The game pad on the left side is intuitive in its feel, and with the Z-Engine capability, very versitile. I use my board for both MMORPG's and FPS' and find it to work very well in both of those styles. The long USB cord (6') also has plugs for your sound card and allows you to plug a mic and headset directly into the back of the keyboard. There are also 2 additional USB ports built in. While wider than a standard keyboard due to the gaming pad, they have compacted it by moving the contol keys between the QWERTY pad and the number pad to the number pad itself. This does take a bit of getting used to, but worth the change to keep the overall size of the board manageable. If you are looking for a keyboard for your office, the Merc Stealth is not what you need. But, if you are serious about gaming and want to improve your play, this is the board you need. Your game play will improve, I know mine certainly has.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Keyboard!, July 14, 2011

By 

R. Prahl "The Asha'man" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: SteelSeries Merc Stealth Gaming Keyboard (Personal Computers)

The Merc Steelseries keyboard worked fantastic right out of the box. It is awesome having the 2 extra USB ports right behind the keyboard. The keys all light up perfectly and have great sensitivity. The side controls work fantastic for MMO's. The only problem with this keyboard is it's configuration. The Zboard system seems to take forever to save a control set. It does have a few games that you can download preloaded sets for, but the customization should be a bit more polished if you want to change keys. It's really a minor annoyance and just takes some fiddling with to get right, but it may confuse basic users. It shouldn't deter anyone from buying this keyboard however. Having the backlit keys should be a "Must Have" for anyone who works/plays at night. Being able to change the color and intensity if I want is great. If you are looking for a gaming keyboard (specifically for Rift, or World of Warcraft or ANY first person shooter) this is the keyboard for you.