Diablo 4 allows players to take their favorite weapons and armor and upgrade them at the blacksmith. As you collect more items, they can be broken down into materials that can then be used to upgrade weapons or armor of the same rarity. Upgrading your gear won't keep it relevant forever, but upgrades can be used in the endgame to round out your build.
To be able to upgrade your gear, you'll often need consumables of the same rarity. This means you'll need to break down other legendary gear pieces to upgrade your desired legendary gear, and that's where Coiling Wards come in.
Updated by Chad Thesen on July 2, 2023: Diablo 4 has a lot of legendary gear that you will be collecting throughout your playthrough of the game. You can use this gear while you level up, but once you hit endgame, you'll come across higher degrees of gear that are better than your current options. Salvaging these old legendary gears can give you some great materials and an embedded link detailed when it's best to salvage and sell has been included in this update. In addition, an embedded link for a guide on getting a similar material has also been provided.
How To Get Coiling Wards
Coiling Wards are obtained by breaking down legendary armor at the blacksmith. Similar to how you get Absruse Sigils from breaking down legendary jewelry. These items can only be obtained from legendary armor pieces and only be used to upgrade armor pieces. Blacksmiths can be found in just about every major town in Sanctuary and are able to break things down in their Salvage menu.
Legendary drops are incredibly rare, and there is no sure way to make them happen. To greatly increase your chances of legendary drops, play on the highest world tier you have available, and unlock the higher-end tiers after you complete the main campaign. Later bosses in the campaign will also have a better chance of dropping legendary items. After completing the main campaign, you'll gain access to fighting world bosses, which have a better chance of dropping legendary weapons. Legendary weapons will almost never drop in broken containers or off ofbasic enemies. So, focus on elite enemies and strong bosses found later in the game.
How To Use Coiling Wards
Coiling Wards can be used by a blacksmith to further upgrade legendary armor pieces. This system will have you destroying your less desirable legendary armor pieces to strengthen the ones you like. Make sure you've compared them closely before breaking one down. The Coiling Ward is also only a rare crafting material and is one of the few times the rarities don't match up.
Coiling Wards can only be used on armor pieces, as a different legendary material is used to upgrade legendary weapons. Until later in the game, when you're finalizing your build, it's best to hold onto legendary gear and materials as you may change which stats you're looking for over time. For those wanting to experiment, you can find an infinite number of legendary items over time; you'll just need to grind for them.