No, Ashbringer is in the game.
Yes, Blizzard lied to us!
But let’s start from the beginning.
On November 7th, 2004, patch 1.1.0 was released and in this version Ashbringer was talked about for the first time by Caretaker Alen: “The what-bringer? Oh, ASHbringer? Never heard of it… What? Stop bothering me!”
On March 7, 2005, patch 1.3.0 was released and in this version Dire Maul was added and NPC Zealots were found there who spoke about Ashbringer: 1:“Has the Prince recanted the tale of the Ashbringer? It is our most favorite of his stories. His favorite is the follow up to the Ashbringer. Of course, nobody has ever been able to get that story out of him.” 2:“The Master holds great interest in the Lair of Nefarian. If only someone would defeat the dragon and his minions and retell the tale to the Prince. I bet that would loosen the Prince’s lips. The Ashbringer could be found!”
On June 7, 2005, patch 1.5.0 was released and in this version Alterac Valley opened its gates. In this battlefield a gray book “Nat Pagle’s Guide To Extreme Anglin” could be found which said: "… and so that’s where you’ll find the legendary sword of the Scarlet Highlord, Ashbringer. “Ain’t it amazin’ what you run into in an ordinary day of fishin’?”
On September 13, 2005, patch 1.7.0 was released and in this version two NPCs were added in Chillwind and Tirisfal that say the following:
Horde NPC at Tirisfal Bulwark: “Hello. I’ve set up camp here at the Bulwark to make my preparations for my journey into the Plaguelands. I’ve heard rumor that a great human wizard took up residency in Hearthglen not terribly long ago. He was commissioned by the Scarlet Crusade to fashion their warriors and hunters with bows and guns. It’s said that he completed a remarkable weapon before the Crusade killed him. I guess their mistrust of the arcane has grown.”
Alliance NPC at Chillwind: “Greetings. Don’t have too much time to talk – I’m just using Chillwind as a camp to get some rest before heading to Hearthglen. I’ve heard word that before they went crazy, the Scarlet Crusade had a mage working for them who was trying to create powerful bows and guns for their soldiers. I’m not sure if he succeeded or not … the Crusade killed him before any of his finished product made it out. Maybe they killed him to keep it a secret … or maybe they distrust the arcane that much.”
On January 3, 2006, patch 1.9.0 was released and in this version another NPC Narain Soothfancy was added who said the following: "Don’t tell me! Shhhh! You are here about the Ashbringer?!? Yes… Yes… No! My bad. “What can I help you with?”
On February 24, 2006, Eyonix officially announced: “It’s true that currently Ashbringer is not in the game, although one day in the future it will be, but not until after there is an awesome legendary item for casters. ;)”
As you can see from this listing, from late 2004 to early 2006 several clues were added to the game to start the legend of Ashbringer. So about 1 1/2 years until the officials suddenly said that there was no legend. However, Ashbringer was found in the binary code by dataminers, meaning it is very much present in the game. By the way +700 Holydamage chance on hit with 75 dps 2hand. There may even be a previously unrecognized mechanism in the game that creates Ashbringers, perhaps even through fishing.
This behavior by Blizzard is very bizarre and speaks against the findings of the data miners and their own previously added clues. We can perhaps expect such behavior from the hobby game developer, but not from one of the largest game companies in the world with WoW as the best game in the world.
For this reason we have come to the conclusion that World of Warcraft tells a legend about the chosen one. As with Excalibur, a legend is created here that we as players can fulfill. The one with the purest heart and best intentions will probably encounter a hidden random mechanism in the game that will spawn Ashbringer. Just like people tried to pull out the sword Excalibur, people try to pull out Ashbringer.
And when that happens, the world (of Warcraft) will know that a new king has arrived.