There is a single player campaign in Mortal Kombat X that lasts about four hours. Of course, most people settle for perhaps two or three characters who most suit them, and in this sense Mortal Kombat X's library of characters means you should be able to find something that fits you just right. So, mastering all the characters in Mortal Kombat X looks like quite a mountain to climb. This is why characters like D’vorah, with her constant pressure and mixups, are so well-equipped to deal with the big guy.Does that look like a lot? As well as 29 characters, each also has three different combat styles, and each style has a wide range of moves to learn. Without meter, Goro can’t convert opportunities into big damage. Pouring on the pressure, and keeping Goro guessing is so important, because then you force him to spend his meter on reversal EX Punch Walks, combo breakers, or at best, a desperation X-Ray. Goro players love to Punch Walk on wake-up, but you can stuff it easily with any attack string after you knock them down. Punch Walk is good, but a well-timed attack can hit him right out of it. Remember that offense is your best defense here. He has good mixups that can lead into solid damage, especially in the corner, which he can get you into so easily with Punch Walk. Almost every string and special move Goro has is completely safe, and in some cases, give HIM the upper hand if you block. The biggest mistake you can make against Goro is to play super-defensively and waiting for an opening to exploit.
The benefit of using a crouching attack for this is that they can’t duck to make it whiff, and if you are a little slow on the attack, and they are mashing uppercut (as online players so often are!) your attack will go safely under it anyway. That means next time you block a Punch Walk, you should throw. You know they’re holding block in anticipation of your counter-attack. If you hit them, you’ve created a bigger window now for you to initiate some offense, if they blocked, then you have info. If your timing was right, the Goro player won’t have time to mash out an attack to beat yours – they’ll either block or get hit. Now whenever you block a Punch Walk (god that name is dumb!), bust this move of yours out. Don’t worry if frame data is lost on you, just look through your character’s basic move list for a crouching move besides your uppercut that has a ten or lower in the “start-up” column. D’vorah’s down+back kick is a good example. After you block a Punch Walk, try busting out your fastest crouching attack, preferably something with a ten frame start-up or faster, that hits low. The important lesson here is that just because a move doesn’t leave someone open to counter-attack, that doesn’t mean there isn’t an advantage to be pressed when you block it. It covers a lot of ground, it’s completely safe on block, and the EX version has seemingly unlimited points of armor, and leads into Goro’s best combos. Perhaps the most poorly-named move in the history of fighting games (or the best depending on your perspective), Punch Walk is a constant thought in most beginning Goro players’ minds – and for good reason. If not, your throw will whiff, but they’ll be too far away to do anything so it’s a wash.
If you timed it right, and they did either the standard or near stomp, you’ll actually avoid them and get a free thrown. If you’re feeling lucky, press throw right after they would be coming down. If you want an option that will keep you out of danger regardless of the choice they make though, just run forward as soon as you see them leaving the screen. If they guess wrong, you may still get to punish them. Things get a little tougher if your opponent uses the far and near stomps, as they might read which direction they think you’ll dodge and hit you anyway. Forward dash works well too, and doesn’t eat up stamina, but you may be out of punish range depending on who you use. It also leaved you in perfect range to unleash your best punish combo on a very defenseless Goro. Since backdashes have some invincibility in Mortal Kombat, it gives you extra wiggle room if your timing is late. If you have the stamina to spare, backdash is the better option. If someone is only doing the regular stomp, just forward dash or backdash as soon as you see Goro heading up off screen.
In truth though it’s a huge risk against a player that knows how to handle it.
Since he disappears up off screen and comes down right where you are with an unblockable attack, it feels really cheap at first. Online warriors love to spam the stomp, because it can be hard to deal with effectively in lag.