What sword

This is a silly article.
The content of this article is not part of official Warcraft lore, but has nevertheless become part of the World of Warcraft culture or community.

The "What Sword?" display at BlizzCon 2023.

What sword? is a catchphrase originally coined by the World of Warcraft community referring to the Sword of Sargeras and its lack of narrative presence in the World of Warcraft story beyond Battle for Azeroth, seen as a sort of Chekhov's gun. It refers to many years of Blizzard developers and storytellers playfully dancing around the lack of acknowledgment of the monolithic landmark.

In-game

With the death of Argus the Unmaker at the end of Legion, a cinematic unfolds with monumental impact - Sargeras plunges his sword into Azeroth, with horrifying implications. The circumstances are so dire not only does it require players to siphon the power away from their artifact weapons, it kickstarts the next expansion, Battle for Azeroth.

In Battle for Azeroth, the sword causes wounds to appear across Azeroth; the planet's very blood ruptures forth as Azerite, a powerful substance that the mortal races begin to war over. While the story of the first patch deals with the implications of this resource and the faction conflict, the factions' attention swiftly turns to the Rise of Queen Azshara and the subsequent Visions of N'Zoth, leaving the players wondering... what about the sword?

This question hung in the air for almost five years, until the announcement of The War Within.

Community response

• Icy Veins inquired, "What's Up With the Giant Sword in Silithus?"
• Wowhead covered memes about the "alleged sword", because as far as they knew, "everything is fine in Silithus."
• Varied speculation appeared, like whether or not the Jailer encounter would involve him obtaining the sword in some fashion.

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Blizzard response

When questioned, Blizzard employees would occasionally acknowledge the sword in passing.

• In an interview with German news outlet Buffed on 22 April 2022, Ion Hazzikostas said the sword was "just a big splinter," humorously downplaying its significance.
• In an interview on 28 April 2022, World of Warcraft streamer Asmongold said, "[the sword] has been there for quite a while, where are things going with that?" to which Hazzikostas replied, "Wait, what sword?"
  • On the same day, the official World of Warcraft Twitter acccount tweeted "What sword?? 🤨"

The punchline

The joke came to a head at BlizzCon 2023 with the announcement of The War Within, and the reveal of The War Within cinematic in which the sword is featured prominently, and is anticipated to be a featured plot point some time in the Worldsoul Saga.

There was also a display experience at the convention with many different legendary artifacts to see, including the sword, accompanied by signs including the catchphrase.

The meme is referenced in World of Warcraft: Classic Season of Discovery with the  [Scroll: THAW WORDS] item; "THAW WORDS" is an anagram of "WHAT SWORD".

The War Within has a quest called  [70] Oh, THAT Sword.

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  "What Sword?" T-Shirt, available on the Blizzard Gear Store

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  Ion sporting the shirt at the BlizzCon 2023 War Within Deep Dive Panel.

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  John Hight, Chris Metzen, and Holly Longdale at Blizzcon 2023.

See also

• Gallywix's Pride, a cannon that the community was told would be fired and never was.