There are only a handful of legendary weapons in Warcraft lore that almost every player has heard of, among them Doomhammer, Frostmourne and Ashbringer. Having already brought Doomhammer to life in a previous episode, Blizzard's YouTube series Azeroth Armory is back, and this time, it's the Ashbringer's turn to become reality.
As explained at the beginning of the video, Ashbringer is a powerful weapon of light in Blizzard's universe, capable of disintegrating the undead into ash in an instant (hence its name). The sword has changed hands multiple times over the years. It was at one time corrupted as well, and used by one of the Lich King's Deathknights when the son of the weapon's original wielder murdered him with it. The weapon would later be cleansed and wielded by Silver Hand paladin Tirion Fordring, the man who would later use the weapon to shatter the Lich King's legendary cursed blade Frostmourne.
In-game, Ashbringer is a massive two-handed sword, but renowned Hollywood blacksmith Tony Swatton downscales the weapon a bit to make it capable of being wielding by a mortal man. The weapon's final weight clocks in at around 18 pounds. That's still pretty darn heavy, though it's nowhere near the 250 pounds Swatton estimates the weapon would weigh had he made the sword out of a solid piece of steel. As for the glowing orb of light that rests above the blade? That's not exactly possible in the real world, though a helpful dose of visual effects helps make the weapon look just like it does in the game.
As many fans will no doubt point out, the Ashbringer constructed in the video isn't the original Ashbringer design. Rather, it's just one of Ashbringer's many new appearances in World of Warcraft: Legion, which allows players to wield various legendary weapons from Warcraft history and customize them to their liking. The Azeroth Armory episode dedicated to Doomhammer did something similar, neglecting to recreate the weapon's original design in favor for one of the new looks in World of Warcraft's upcoming expansion.
Is it a little disappointing that the more iconic, original version of the weapon wasn't brought to life? Yes, but the model that was chosen is still mighty impressive. Paladin players will be able to wield Ashbringer for themselves on Aug. 30, when World of Warcraft: Legion launches.
