Warden Carapace is a material from the Deeper and Darker mod that drops from the Warden, the mob that guards Ancient Cities in the Deep Dark. It’s the base of every Warden upgrade, as you’ll need 4 of them for each 
Reinforced Echo Shard, and the shards are what turn Netherite gear into Warden gear.
Every Warden drops between 1 and 3, and there are a few rarer places to find it in chests and vases. It won’t burn up if you drop it in Lava or fire, the same as Netherite, so you won’t lose any if a fight in the Deep Dark goes wrong near a lava pool.
Obtaining
The Warden drops 1 to 3 Warden Carapace every time you kill it, along with a 
Heart of the Deep, and Looting doesn’t change how many you’ll get. A Warden is summoned when a Sculk Shrieker in an Ancient City goes off too many times, so you’re able to call one on purpose if you’re ready for the fight.
Warden Drops Added by Deeper and Darker
Warden Carapace 
It’s a dangerous fight, as the Warden has 500 health and its sonic boom goes straight through armor, so it’s worth fighting from somewhere it can’t reach you in melee, or trapping it first. Every Warden you kill also gives you a Heart of the Deep, which you’ll need for the Otherside Portal and the Sonorous Staff.
Chests and Vases
Ancient City chests have a 20% chance of holding a Warden Carapace, and the 
Ancient Vases built into the city walls have a small chance of dropping one when you break them. The chests in an Ancient Temple in the Otherside can have one as well, though it’s rare there.
Breaking an Ancient Vase with Silk Touch gives you the vase itself instead of its loot, so you’ll want to use a normal tool if you’re after the Carapace. Some vases are fake and will release a mob when broken, which is worth remembering before you smash a row of them.
Chests and vases are a slow way to collect it, so they’re mostly a top-up between Warden kills. The Ancient Vase page covers the rest of what they drop and how to tell the fake ones apart.
Uses
Most of your Warden Carapace will go into Reinforced Echo Shards, which take 4 Warden Carapace, 4 
Phantom Membranes and an 
Echo Shard. Each shard upgrades one piece of Netherite gear at a Smithing Table, so the numbers add up quickly.
The Warden Armor takes 16 Warden Carapace for all four pieces, and the five Warden Tools take another 20, so you’ll need 36 for everything. It’s worth deciding which pieces you want first, since that’s a lot of Wardens to fight.
Ancient Compass
In the 1.21.1 version of the mod, 4 Warden Carapace around a 
Compass will make an 
Ancient Compass, which points to the nearest Ancient Temple once you’re in the Otherside. This was added in 1.4, so it isn’t in the 1.20.1 version of the mod, which stops at 1.3.3.
The compass is the easiest way to find a temple, which has more Warden Carapace and the Warden Upgrade Smithing Template in its chests. There’s more on how it works on the Ancient Compass page.
FAQ
Kill a Warden, which drops 1 to 3 every time, or loot the chests in an Ancient City, which have a 20% chance of holding one. Ancient Vases and Ancient Temple chests can have one too, but they’re a lot rarer, so the Warden is the main source.
Each Reinforced Echo Shard takes 4, and every piece of Warden gear needs one shard, so the armor takes 16 and the tools another 20. That comes to 36 for the full set of armor and tools, plus 4 more if you want an Ancient Compass.
It’s used to craft Reinforced Echo Shards, which upgrade Netherite armor and tools into Warden gear at a Smithing Table. In the 1.21.1 version it also makes the Ancient Compass, which points you to the nearest Ancient Temple in the Otherside.
It doesn’t, as the mod adds 1 to 3 to the Warden’s drops on top of its normal loot, and Looting isn’t counted. You’ll get the same spread of 1 to 3 whatever you kill it with, so there’s no need to bring a Looting weapon to the fight.
