diff --git a/akka-cluster-sharding/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ClusterShardingFailureSpec.scala b/akka-cluster-sharding/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ClusterShardingFailureSpec.scala
index 7658ce9a9d..66941f095c 100644
--- a/akka-cluster-sharding/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ClusterShardingFailureSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-cluster-sharding/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ClusterShardingFailureSpec.scala
@@ -5,13 +5,14 @@
 package akka.cluster.sharding
 
 import java.io.File
+
 import akka.cluster.sharding.ShardRegion.Passivate
 
 import scala.concurrent.duration._
 import org.apache.commons.io.FileUtils
 import com.typesafe.config.ConfigFactory
 import akka.actor._
-import akka.cluster.Cluster
+import akka.cluster.{ Cluster, MemberStatus, MultiNodeClusterSpec }
 import akka.persistence.Persistence
 import akka.persistence.journal.leveldb.SharedLeveldbJournal
 import akka.persistence.journal.leveldb.SharedLeveldbStore
@@ -21,7 +22,6 @@ import akka.remote.testkit.MultiNodeSpec
 import akka.remote.testkit.STMultiNodeSpec
 import akka.remote.transport.ThrottlerTransportAdapter.Direction
 import akka.testkit._
-import akka.cluster.MemberStatus
 
 object ClusterShardingFailureSpec {
   case class Get(id: String)
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ abstract class ClusterShardingFailureSpecConfig(val mode: String) extends MultiN
       dir = target/ClusterShardingFailureSpec/sharding-ddata
       map-size = 10 MiB
     }
-    """))
+    """).withFallback(MultiNodeClusterSpec.clusterConfig))
 
   testTransport(on = true)
 }
diff --git a/akka-cluster-sharding/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ClusterShardingGetStateSpec.scala b/akka-cluster-sharding/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ClusterShardingGetStateSpec.scala
index 2ecb6bb9f0..2c7e51104a 100644
--- a/akka-cluster-sharding/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ClusterShardingGetStateSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-cluster-sharding/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ClusterShardingGetStateSpec.scala
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 package akka.cluster.sharding
 
 import akka.actor._
-import akka.cluster.Cluster
+import akka.cluster.{ Cluster, MultiNodeClusterSpec }
 import akka.cluster.ClusterEvent.CurrentClusterState
 import akka.remote.testconductor.RoleName
 import akka.remote.testkit.{ MultiNodeConfig, MultiNodeSpec, STMultiNodeSpec }
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ object ClusterShardingGetStateSpecConfig extends MultiNodeConfig {
       dir = target/ClusterShardingGetStateSpec/sharding-ddata
       map-size = 10 MiB
     }
-    """))
+    """).withFallback(MultiNodeClusterSpec.clusterConfig))
 
   nodeConfig(first, second)(ConfigFactory.parseString(
     """akka.cluster.roles=["shard"]"""))
diff --git a/akka-cluster-sharding/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ClusterShardingGetStatsSpec.scala b/akka-cluster-sharding/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ClusterShardingGetStatsSpec.scala
index 7572d3984c..743ef6d610 100644
--- a/akka-cluster-sharding/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ClusterShardingGetStatsSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-cluster-sharding/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ClusterShardingGetStatsSpec.scala
@@ -5,11 +5,11 @@
 package akka.cluster.sharding
 
 import akka.actor._
-import akka.cluster.{ MemberStatus, Cluster }
+import akka.cluster.{ Cluster, MemberStatus, MultiNodeClusterSpec }
 import akka.cluster.ClusterEvent.CurrentClusterState
 import akka.remote.testconductor.RoleName
 import akka.remote.testkit.{ MultiNodeConfig, MultiNodeSpec, STMultiNodeSpec }
-import akka.testkit.{ TestProbe, TestDuration }
+import akka.testkit.{ TestDuration, TestProbe }
 import com.typesafe.config.ConfigFactory
 
 import scala.concurrent.duration._
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ object ClusterShardingGetStatsSpecConfig extends MultiNodeConfig {
       map-size = 10 MiB
     }
     akka.actor.warn-about-java-serializer-usage=false
-    """))
+    """).withFallback(MultiNodeClusterSpec.clusterConfig))
 
   nodeConfig(first, second, third)(ConfigFactory.parseString(
     """akka.cluster.roles=["shard"]"""))
diff --git a/akka-cluster-sharding/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ClusterShardingGracefulShutdownSpec.scala b/akka-cluster-sharding/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ClusterShardingGracefulShutdownSpec.scala
index 2b6249c3b6..37244d3ffa 100644
--- a/akka-cluster-sharding/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ClusterShardingGracefulShutdownSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-cluster-sharding/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ClusterShardingGracefulShutdownSpec.scala
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import scala.concurrent.duration._
 import java.io.File
 
 import akka.actor._
-import akka.cluster.Cluster
+import akka.cluster.{ Cluster, MultiNodeClusterSpec }
 import akka.cluster.sharding.ShardRegion.GracefulShutdown
 import akka.persistence.Persistence
 import akka.persistence.journal.leveldb.{ SharedLeveldbJournal, SharedLeveldbStore }
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ abstract class ClusterShardingGracefulShutdownSpecConfig(val mode: String) exten
       dir = target/ClusterShardingGracefulShutdownSpec/sharding-ddata
       map-size = 10 MiB
     }
-    """))
+    """).withFallback(MultiNodeClusterSpec.clusterConfig))
 }
 
 object PersistentClusterShardingGracefulShutdownSpecConfig extends ClusterShardingGracefulShutdownSpecConfig("persistence")
diff --git a/akka-cluster-sharding/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ClusterShardingMinMembersSpec.scala b/akka-cluster-sharding/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ClusterShardingMinMembersSpec.scala
index 386f2eb178..daf58238f7 100644
--- a/akka-cluster-sharding/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ClusterShardingMinMembersSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-cluster-sharding/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ClusterShardingMinMembersSpec.scala
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import scala.concurrent.duration._
 import java.io.File
 
 import akka.actor._
-import akka.cluster.Cluster
+import akka.cluster.{ Cluster, MemberStatus, MultiNodeClusterSpec }
 import akka.cluster.sharding.ShardRegion.GracefulShutdown
 import akka.persistence.Persistence
 import akka.persistence.journal.leveldb.{ SharedLeveldbJournal, SharedLeveldbStore }
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@ import org.apache.commons.io.FileUtils
 import scala.concurrent.duration._
 import akka.cluster.sharding.ShardRegion.GetClusterShardingStats
 import akka.cluster.sharding.ShardRegion.ClusterShardingStats
-import akka.cluster.MemberStatus
 
 object ClusterShardingMinMembersSpec {
   case object StopEntity
@@ -62,7 +61,7 @@ abstract class ClusterShardingMinMembersSpecConfig(val mode: String) extends Mul
       map-size = 10 MiB
     }
     akka.cluster.min-nr-of-members = 3
-    """))
+    """).withFallback(MultiNodeClusterSpec.clusterConfig))
 }
 
 object PersistentClusterShardingMinMembersSpecConfig extends ClusterShardingMinMembersSpecConfig("persistence")
diff --git a/akka-cluster-sharding/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ClusterShardingRememberEntitiesNewExtractorSpec.scala b/akka-cluster-sharding/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ClusterShardingRememberEntitiesNewExtractorSpec.scala
index e44a2ef576..74ae2c836c 100644
--- a/akka-cluster-sharding/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ClusterShardingRememberEntitiesNewExtractorSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-cluster-sharding/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ClusterShardingRememberEntitiesNewExtractorSpec.scala
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ package akka.cluster.sharding
 import java.io.File
 
 import akka.actor._
-import akka.cluster.{ Cluster, MemberStatus }
+import akka.cluster.{ Cluster, MemberStatus, MultiNodeClusterSpec }
 import akka.persistence.Persistence
 import akka.persistence.journal.leveldb.{ SharedLeveldbJournal, SharedLeveldbStore }
 import akka.remote.testconductor.RoleName
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ abstract class ClusterShardingRememberEntitiesNewExtractorSpecConfig(val mode: S
       dir = target/ShardingRememberEntitiesNewExtractorSpec/sharding-ddata
       map-size = 10 MiB
     }
-    """))
+    """).withFallback(MultiNodeClusterSpec.clusterConfig))
 
   val roleConfig = ConfigFactory.parseString(
     """
diff --git a/akka-cluster-sharding/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ClusterShardingRememberEntitiesSpec.scala b/akka-cluster-sharding/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ClusterShardingRememberEntitiesSpec.scala
index 1909e39e42..38c4a00adc 100644
--- a/akka-cluster-sharding/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ClusterShardingRememberEntitiesSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-cluster-sharding/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ClusterShardingRememberEntitiesSpec.scala
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import scala.concurrent.duration._
 import java.io.File
 
 import akka.actor._
-import akka.cluster.Cluster
+import akka.cluster.{ Cluster, MemberStatus, MultiNodeClusterSpec }
 import akka.cluster.sharding.ShardRegion.GracefulShutdown
 import akka.persistence.Persistence
 import akka.persistence.journal.leveldb.{ SharedLeveldbJournal, SharedLeveldbStore }
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@ import org.apache.commons.io.FileUtils
 import scala.concurrent.duration._
 import akka.cluster.sharding.ShardRegion.GetClusterShardingStats
 import akka.cluster.sharding.ShardRegion.ClusterShardingStats
-import akka.cluster.MemberStatus
 
 object ClusterShardingRememberEntitiesSpec {
 
@@ -73,7 +72,7 @@ abstract class ClusterShardingRememberEntitiesSpecConfig(val mode: String) exten
       dir = target/ShardingRememberEntitiesSpec/sharding-ddata
       map-size = 10 MiB
     }
-    """))
+    """).withFallback(MultiNodeClusterSpec.clusterConfig))
 
   nodeConfig(third)(ConfigFactory.parseString(s"""
     akka.cluster.sharding.distributed-data.durable.lmdb {
diff --git a/akka-cluster-sharding/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ClusterShardingSpec.scala b/akka-cluster-sharding/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ClusterShardingSpec.scala
index e37aec5de5..8ba69fa093 100644
--- a/akka-cluster-sharding/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ClusterShardingSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-cluster-sharding/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ClusterShardingSpec.scala
@@ -4,16 +4,17 @@
 
 package akka.cluster.sharding
 
-import akka.cluster.ddata.{ ReplicatorSettings, Replicator }
-import akka.cluster.sharding.ShardCoordinator.Internal.{ ShardStopped, HandOff }
+import akka.cluster.ddata.{ Replicator, ReplicatorSettings }
+import akka.cluster.sharding.ShardCoordinator.Internal.{ HandOff, ShardStopped }
 import akka.cluster.sharding.ShardRegion.Passivate
 import akka.cluster.sharding.ShardRegion.GetCurrentRegions
 import akka.cluster.sharding.ShardRegion.CurrentRegions
+
 import language.postfixOps
 import scala.concurrent.duration._
 import com.typesafe.config.ConfigFactory
 import akka.actor._
-import akka.cluster.Cluster
+import akka.cluster.{ Cluster, MultiNodeClusterSpec }
 import akka.persistence.PersistentActor
 import akka.persistence.Persistence
 import akka.persistence.journal.leveldb.SharedLeveldbJournal
@@ -25,6 +26,7 @@ import akka.remote.testkit.STMultiNodeSpec
 import akka.testkit._
 import akka.testkit.TestEvent.Mute
 import java.io.File
+
 import org.apache.commons.io.FileUtils
 import akka.cluster.singleton.ClusterSingletonManager
 import akka.cluster.singleton.ClusterSingletonManagerSettings
@@ -165,7 +167,7 @@ abstract class ClusterShardingSpecConfig(
       }
     }
     akka.testconductor.barrier-timeout = 70s
-    """))
+    """).withFallback(MultiNodeClusterSpec.clusterConfig))
   nodeConfig(sixth) {
     ConfigFactory.parseString("""akka.cluster.roles = ["frontend"]""")
   }
@@ -252,12 +254,11 @@ class DDataClusterShardingWithEntityRecoveryMultiJvmNode5 extends DDataClusterSh
 class DDataClusterShardingWithEntityRecoveryMultiJvmNode6 extends DDataClusterShardingSpec
 class DDataClusterShardingWithEntityRecoveryMultiJvmNode7 extends DDataClusterShardingSpec
 
-abstract class ClusterShardingSpec(config: ClusterShardingSpecConfig) extends MultiNodeSpec(config) with STMultiNodeSpec with ImplicitSender {
+abstract class ClusterShardingSpec(config: ClusterShardingSpecConfig) extends MultiNodeSpec(config) with MultiNodeClusterSpec
+  with STMultiNodeSpec with ImplicitSender {
   import ClusterShardingSpec._
   import config._
 
-  override def initialParticipants = roles.size
-
   val storageLocations = List(new File(system.settings.config.getString(
     "akka.cluster.sharding.distributed-data.durable.lmdb.dir")).getParentFile)
 
diff --git a/akka-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/MultiNodeClusterSpec.scala b/akka-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/MultiNodeClusterSpec.scala
index 5bd0bd0827..41c1d20177 100644
--- a/akka-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/MultiNodeClusterSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/MultiNodeClusterSpec.scala
@@ -47,8 +47,11 @@ object MultiNodeClusterSpec {
       periodic-tasks-initial-delay        = 300 ms
       publish-stats-interval              = 0 s # always, when it happens
       failure-detector.heartbeat-interval = 500 ms
-
       run-coordinated-shutdown-when-down = off
+
+      sharding {
+        retry-interval = 200ms
+      }
     }
     akka.loglevel = INFO
     akka.log-dead-letters = off
diff --git a/akka-cluster/src/test/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterTestKit.scala b/akka-cluster/src/test/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterTestKit.scala
index 3cc55fbe8b..d5cbd32a52 100644
--- a/akka-cluster/src/test/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterTestKit.scala
+++ b/akka-cluster/src/test/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterTestKit.scala
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ trait ClusterTestKit extends TestKitBase {
     /**
      * Register an [[ActorSystem]].
      *
-     * The [ActorSystem]] will be prepended to list and be considered the first node
+     * The [[ActorSystem]] will be prepended to list and be considered the first node
      */
     def registerAsFirst(actorSystem: ActorSystem) = {
       actorSystems = actorSystem +: actorSystems
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ trait ClusterTestKit extends TestKitBase {
      * Force the passed [[ActorSystem]] to quit the cluster and shutdown.
      * Once original system is removed, a new [[ActorSystem]] is started using the same address.
      */
-    def quitAndRestart(actorSystem: ActorSystem, config: Config) = {
+    def quitAndRestart(actorSystem: ActorSystem, config: Config): ActorSystem = {
       require(isRegistered(actorSystem), "Unknown actor system")
 
       // is this first seed node?
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ trait ClusterTestKit extends TestKitBase {
 
       // remove old before starting the new one
       cluster.leave(cluster.readView.selfAddress)
-      awaitCond(cluster.readView.status == Removed, message = s"awaiting node [${cluster.readView.selfAddress}] to be 'Removed'")
+      awaitCond(cluster.readView.status == Removed, message = s"awaiting node [${cluster.readView.selfAddress}] to be 'Removed'. Current status: [${cluster.readView.status}]")
 
       shutdown(actorSystem)
       awaitCond(cluster.isTerminated)
@@ -130,9 +130,6 @@ trait ClusterTestKit extends TestKitBase {
 
       if (firstSeedNode) newActorSystemAsFirst(newConfig)
       else newActorSystem(newConfig)
-
     }
-
   }
-
 }
diff --git a/akka-cluster/src/test/scala/akka/cluster/JoinConfigCompatCheckerSpec.scala b/akka-cluster/src/test/scala/akka/cluster/JoinConfigCompatCheckerSpec.scala
index 2de740a641..fcf0a389cc 100644
--- a/akka-cluster/src/test/scala/akka/cluster/JoinConfigCompatCheckerSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-cluster/src/test/scala/akka/cluster/JoinConfigCompatCheckerSpec.scala
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ object JoinConfigCompatCheckerSpec {
 
 }
 
-class JoinConfigCompatCheckerSpec extends AkkaSpec() with ClusterTestKit {
+class JoinConfigCompatCheckerSpec extends AkkaSpec with ClusterTestKit {
 
   "A Joining Node" must {