Call of the Dead Guide: Defeat George Romero’s Roaming Boss in Black Ops Zombies
Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies adds a roaming boss enemy to Call of the Dead in the form of George Romero, the grandfather figure of zombie storytelling. Unlike standard zombies that move as a pack, Romero actively hunts a player and keeps closing the distance. If you fire at him or get too near, he flips into an enraged mode—meaning you’ll be the one doing the sprinting. The practical solution is to kite him into the water until he calms down, but the bigger question for most players is how to deal with him long enough to focus on the easter egg or push into higher rounds.
How George Romero works in Call of the Dead
George Romero is designed to constantly target a player and walk straight toward them. You can temporarily remove him from the threat cycle by killing him, and doing so grants a free Perk plus a Death Machine. If you’ve already completed the Call of the Dead easter egg at least once, he can instead drop a Wunderwaffe. The catch is that this is not a permanent solution: George returns every 2 rounds after being killed, so you’re buying time, not ending the encounter.
His behavior is also straightforward but punishing. He will always lock onto someone, and if he is shot or if he hits the player, he enters an enraged state where he starts sprinting. To neutralize that aggression, you’ll need to calm him down by leading him into water. Avoid shooting him when you can—his speed is higher than that of normal zombies, so even brief missteps can put you in a chase you can’t win.
Damage is another reason players treat Romero differently from regular undead. He deals 90 damage per hit, which means you’ll be eliminated in three hits even if you have JuggerNog. That’s why “fight him” strategies are risky unless you’re using the right tools at the right moments.
Health scaling also matters for planning. George Romero has 250,000 HP per player. In solo, that’s 250,000 HP. In a full 4-player lobby, he effectively has 1,000,000 HP, which makes coordinated damage windows and weapon choice far more important.
Why weapon choice and positioning decide the fight
Romero’s encounter is built around positioning: weapons deal more damage to George when he’s not in the water. While he can still chase you and sprint, the water phase reduces the damage you can reliably output, so players usually aim to set up a burst window while he’s away from it.
The game also adds a damage multiplier system depending on which upgraded or specialized weapons you’re using. The Pack-a-Punch options listed below have specific effectiveness against Romero:
- The Pack-a-Punch FAMAS deals 9.25x damage to George. It can be found from the Mystery Box.
- The Pack-a-Punch Dragunov deals 10,000 damage to George. He takes 25 shots to kill. This weapon can be acquired from the Mystery Box.
- The Pack-a-Punch Scavenger (Hyena Infra-Dead) deals 10,000 damage to George, requiring 25 shots to kill. It can be acquired from the Mystery Box.
- The Pack-a-Punch Ray Gun (Porter’s X2 Ray Gun) deals 3,000 damage to George, requiring 84 shots to kill. It can be acquired from the Mystery Box.
In practice, the Dragunov and Scavenger are often the strongest picks against Romero. The Scavenger’s explosive-style output helps you keep pressure on him, and its bullets can also distract zombies while you’re trying to land the hits. The Dragunov’s reputation comes from its efficiency in those non-water damage windows.
Power-ups and tricks that remove George from the round
If you get a Death Machine power-up, it should almost always go toward Romero. The encounter is time-sensitive, and the stated baseline is that it takes 48 seconds of Death Machine use (and no other weapons) to kill George.
There’s also a more technical way to make Romero vanish for the remainder of the round. If you shoot him with the Pack-a-Punch V-R11 Lazarus, George Romero can be forced to disappear until the next round. This doesn’t grant extra rewards on its own, but it does let you effectively start the next round with Romero having left—turning him into a non-threat for the current late-round moment.
To manage these tactics, players also track his status. You can check George’s health by the color of his stage light weapon: it begins blue, transitions to orange, and then eventually fades completely. Because the drop opportunities tie into perk progression, the recommended approach is to only kill George when you have 4 Perks, so you can collect the 5th perk immediately.
What this means for players pushing rounds and chasing the easter egg
Romero’s presence is more than a gimmick boss—it changes how you plan both high-round attempts and easter egg routes. Since he returns every 2 rounds, players need to build their runs around recurring interruptions rather than treating him like a one-time hurdle. The water-kiting mechanic also forces you to think about spacing and timing, because your damage output is tied to whether he’s in or out of that zone.
Meanwhile, the easter egg itself is supported by the cast of celebrities in Ultimis, who help with completing the quest, claiming the Golden Rod, and finding a way out of the frozen nightmare.
- Romero hunts a player constantly, and shooting or getting hit enrages him into a sprinting state.
- Killing him grants a Perk and a Death Machine (or a Wunderwaffe if the easter egg was completed at least once), but he returns every 2 rounds.
- Water calms him down, and damage is stronger when he’s not in the water.
- Dragunov and Scavenger are highlighted as top options due to their effectiveness and how the Scavenger can distract zombies.
- Death Machine is the dedicated burst tool, with a stated time-to-kill of 48 seconds.
- V-R11 Lazarus can remove him for the rest of the round, without reward changes.
Finally, if you’re also working through other mysteries across the series, don’t forget to check out easter egg guides for additional Black Ops Zombies maps: Ascension, Shangri-La, and Moon.
