WoW Classic might be getting a legendary weapon that's been the subject of rumors in the MMO's mainline version for 20 years

World of Warcraft has been running for over 20 years now, and if that sentence doesn't inspire some sort of existential dread in you, I don't know what will. It's been so long that World of Warcraft Classic is launching its own version of Mists of Pandaria later this year. But in those 20 years, there have been mysteries that haven't been answered, but it looks like one of World of Warcraft's biggest rumors could be coming to fruition in the very near future.

Since the very early days of World of Warcraft, there have been whispers that players could take ownership of a powerful sword originally wielded by a legendary warrior. No, not the 'Sword of a Thousand Truths' from the South Park episode; that's already in the game (albeit as 'Slayer of the Lifeless'). Highlord Tirion Fordring's blade, Ashbringer, has been a weapon players have been dying to get their hands on since 2004, but it never arrived in the game despite datamined files and hints. That is, except for a Paladin-exclusive artifact that arrived and left Legion and a corrupted version of the weapon that didn't exactly have the same aura.

However, PC Gamer has noticed that clues are pointing to the sword finally becoming attainable in the near future in World of Warcraft Classic. A number of items were datamined ahead of the upcoming Season of Discovery Phase 8, which, no big deal, we've had the sword datamined before and nothing came of it. However, a Blizzard news post about the new phase included a part about a 'Legendary Weapon Questline' that inspired some intrigue.

The post reads, "Warriors, Hunters, and Paladins can undertake an epic quest to restore a fallen weapon to its former glory. Will you succeed, or will this storied weapon remain shrouded in darkness? The future is uncertain." This – alongside the fact that this Season of Discovery deals with the Scarlet Crusade – seems to be pointing to the Ashbringer coming out of its 20-year-long stint in hiding. Or we could all just be falling for it again.

This weapon's appearance is sure to cheer fans up, especially after the latest raid race was pretty lackluster.