Nether Stone location and how to unlock in Mortal Kombat 1

The Nether Stone is a mysterious object located in Mortal Kombat 1’s Invasion mode, and you’ll need to use it as a key to get past each Mesa’s fiery gates.

These Nether Stone gates show up very early in Invasion — in the first Mesa you reach, Fengjian Village — but you won’t actually be able to collect the stone until much later in your season 1 journey.

In this Mortal Kombat 1 guide, we’ll tell you how to get the Nether Stone in Invasion, and why it’s worth going back to use it.

How to get the Nether Stone in Mortal Kombat 1

Image: NetherRealm Studios / WB Games via Polygon

The Nether Stone is a reward for defeating the souped-up version of the Scorpion character — the final boss of the final Mesa in season 1.

You’ll need to work your way through each of the Invasion season 1 Mesas and the entire Fire Temple to reach Scorpion. When you beat him, he’ll drop his cool seasonal skin and the Nether Stone, which will allow you to go back and revisit old Mesas for new rewards.

As far as we can tell, there is no way to get the Nether Stone early or skip to Scorpion. These gates are intended to be post-game areas for the Invasion mode.

What do you get for using the Nether Stone?

Image: NetherRealm Studios / WB Games via Polygon

Each Mesa has a Nether Stone gate, so you’ll unlock a ton of bonus fights once you have the stone in your possession.

Once you unlock each gate, you’ll find a suite of “boss” encounters for you to take on. Most of these fights aren’t multi-round kombats, but they do have some kind of obnoxious modifier for you to deal with. The enemies in these areas are also — usually — high-level (over 20), so make sure you’re around there before you dive in. We dinged level 30 (max level) off of beating Scorpion and had very little trouble with any of the post-game fights.

As for what you’ll get for completing these optional fights, you can pick up a ton of Talismans, as well as both secret chests and portals leading to rewards hidden on each path. There are even some Klues leading to even more bonus chests in some of the Mesas.

If you’re into Invasion solely for the (relatively minor) story, you’re good to check out after you take down Scorpion. But if you enjoy the seasonal rewards from Invasion and want them all, you’ll need to clear out each Nether Stone path before you put the mode down for good.