WoW Season 2 Weapon Enchants: What Changed in Patch 11.1

Key Takeaways

• Patch 11.1 buffed four of the five Authority enchants specifically to reduce Authority of Radiant Power's dominance, which had been the near-universal DPS pick across most specs throughout Season 1.
• Authority of Air received the largest raw buff at Quality 1 (+148% absorption), making it situationally viable in content where absorb procs could be meaningfully timed , though it remained suppressed in PvP.
• Authority of Fiery Resolve became the consensus tank and healer pick across most specs, with its healing proc offering more reliable mitigation value than the absorption alternative.
• Authority of Storms moved into contention for Mage and other elemental DPS specs after its +45% Q1 buff, narrowing the gap with Radiant Power for Haste-heavy builds.
• Secondary enchants — Council's Guile (Crit), Stormrider's Fury (Haste), Stonebound Artistry (Mastery), which became competitive alternatives for specs whose top secondary stat aligned with the proc.

With those top-line changes in mind, here is the full balance pass breakdown and what it meant per spec.

The Patch 11.1 Enchantment Rebalance

Patch 11.1 (the Undermine(d) update for The War Within Season 2, released in early 2025) included a targeted round of weapon enchant tuning in the late Public Test Realm cycle. The goal was to widen the viable enchant pool: for most of Season 1, Enchant Weapon - Authority of Radiant Power had dominated DPS enchant selection across nearly every spec, with competing options rarely considered.

The adjustment buffed the four competing Authority enchants while leaving Radiant Power consistent across all qualities. The result: at Quality 1, several alternatives became competitive in specific content types; at Q2 and Q3, the gap with Radiant Power narrowed but did not close for most pure-DPS specs.

Patch 11.1 Enchant Adjustment Table

All five Authority enchants are crafted Inscription items introduced in The War Within and available at three quality tiers. The three secondary enchants (Council's Guile, Stormrider's Fury, Stonebound Artistry) grant 16 of their respective secondary stat for 12 seconds on proc and had been available since launch without changes in 11.1.

⚠️ PvP note: Authority of Air and Authority of the Depths do not apply in instanced PvP content. In arenas and battlegrounds during Season 2, the relevant choices narrowed to Fiery Resolve, Radiant Power, Storms, and the three secondary stat enchants.

Season 2 Class Recommendations

The following per-spec picks reflect the class writer consensus for Patch 11.1, based on how each spec's stat priorities interacted with the updated enchant values. Where the recommendation was unambiguous, it is listed; where the gap was small and simulation-dependent, that is noted.

Death Knight

• Blood: Enchant Weapon - Authority of Fiery Resolve. The healing proc aligned with Blood's active mitigation and self-sustain model, making it the clear tank pick.
• Frost: Enchant Weapon - Authority of the Depths. Frost's stacking-buff playstyle made the per-stack damage enchant competitive in single-target contexts after the +74% Q1 buff.
• Unholy: Enchant Weapon - Stonebound Artistry. Unholy's Mastery scaling for pet-damage amplification gave the Mastery-proc secondary enchant an edge over the Authority line for most content.

Demon Hunter

• Havoc: Enchant Weapon - Council's Guile. Havoc's Critical Strike scaling made the Crit-proc enchant the recommended secondary option.
• Vengeance: Enchant Weapon - Stormrider's Fury. Vengeance's Haste priority for cooldown reduction and active mitigation cycles made the Haste-proc enchant the consensus pick.

Druid

• Balance, Feral, Guardian, Restoration: Enchant Weapon - Authority of Radiant Power. Despite the Season 2 balance pass, Radiant Power's raw damage proc remained ahead across Druid's diverse spec range in most PvE contexts. Specific sim results varied by build.

Mage

• Arcane, Fire, Frost: Enchant Weapon - Authority of Storms. The Storms enchant's significant Q1 buff and competitive Q2-Q3 value made it the new recommended pick for Mage, displacing the previous default of Radiant Power.

For other classes and specs in Season 2, the general framework was: tanks and healers defaulted to Fiery Resolve; pure melee DPS evaluated Storms versus Radiant Power through a sim; ranged DPS specs did the same. The secondary stat enchants (Council's Guile, Stormrider's Fury, Stonebound Artistry) were competitive for specs at the cap or soft-breakpoint of Crit, Haste, or Mastery respectively.

✏️ How to choose in Season 2: For specs not listed above, the practical approach was to run both Radiant Power and Storms at Q3 in Raidbots with your current gear profile. The gap was small enough for most specs that trinket interactions and fight-type assumptions moved the needle more than the enchant choice itself.

For players returning to the game today, Browse current Midnight dungeon carries. Enchant priorities in Midnight differ significantly from Season 2.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did Blizzard buff the competing enchants in Patch 11.1?

Radiant Power had dominated Season 1 DPS enchant choice to the point where competing options were essentially unused. The 11.1 pass was specifically intended to diversify the enchant landscape and give specs with different stat priorities a genuine reason to consider alternatives. Tanks and healers in particular benefited. Fiery Resolve became a real best-in-slot for Blood DK and Vengeance DH rather than a fallback.

Which enchant was best for most DPS specs after the 11.1 patch?

Radiant Power and Authority of Storms were the two main DPS contenders after 11.1. Radiant Power remained slightly ahead for specs without strong interaction with the Storms proc, while Storms pulled ahead for Haste-heavy specs or those specifically buffed by the elemental damage type. The correct answer was spec- and gear-profile-specific.

Did Radiant Power receive a buff or no change in Patch 11.1?

Radiant Power received a +23% damage increase at all quality tiers in Patch 11.1. This corrects the original blog's claim that it received "no change" at Q2-Q3. The buff applied consistently across all qualities. The other Authority enchants received larger percentage buffs specifically to close the gap with Radiant Power.

Does Authority of Air work in PvP?

No. Authority of Air's absorption proc is suppressed in instanced PvP (arenas, battlegrounds). In PvP contexts during Season 2, the field narrowed to the three Authority enchants that confirmed PvP application (Fiery Resolve, Radiant Power, Storms) plus the three secondary stat enchants.

Are Season 2 enchants still relevant in WoW Midnight?

This guide covers The War Within Season 2 (Patch 11.1, early 2025). WoW Midnight (Patch 12.0.5, live March 2026) has a different professions system and enchant roster. The Authority family may not carry forward; check Wowhead's current Midnight professions pages for live recommendations.

Where can I find Season 2 recommendations for all 13 classes?

Wowhead's Season 2 enchant guide covers all 13 classes and their specs with class-writer-sourced per-spec picks. This article covers the clearest-cut cases for four classes where the enchant choice was unambiguous based on their stat priority profiles.

Last reviewed 2026-06-20 against Patch 11.1 Undermine(d) — Maintained by WowCarry's WoW team.