diff --git a/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/DeathWatchSpec.scala b/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/DeathWatchSpec.scala
index 90f24d7006..f7a99443e7 100644
--- a/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/DeathWatchSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/DeathWatchSpec.scala
@@ -11,7 +11,9 @@ import akka.testkit._
 import scala.concurrent.duration._
 import scala.concurrent.Await
 
-class LocalDeathWatchSpec extends AkkaSpec with ImplicitSender with DefaultTimeout with DeathWatchSpec
+class LocalDeathWatchSpec extends AkkaSpec("""
+  akka.actor.serialize-messages = off
+  """) with ImplicitSender with DefaultTimeout with DeathWatchSpec
 
 object DeathWatchSpec {
   def props(target: ActorRef, testActor: ActorRef) = Props(new Actor {
@@ -112,7 +114,7 @@ trait DeathWatchSpec { this: AkkaSpec with ImplicitSender with DefaultTimeout 
       filterException[ActorKilledException] {
         val supervisor = system.actorOf(Props(new Supervisor(
           OneForOneStrategy(maxNrOfRetries = 2)(List(classOf[Exception])))))
-        val terminalProps = Props(new Actor { def receive = { case x ⇒ sender() ! x } })
+        val terminalProps = TestActors.echoActorProps
         val terminal = Await.result((supervisor ? terminalProps).mapTo[ActorRef], timeout.duration)
 
         val monitor = startWatching(terminal)
diff --git a/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/TypedActorSpec.scala b/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/TypedActorSpec.scala
index 862df94dc9..7d25fcd7d3 100644
--- a/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/TypedActorSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/TypedActorSpec.scala
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ object TypedActorSpec {
         fixed-pool-size = 60
       }
     }
+    akka.actor.serialize-messages = off
     """
 
   class CyclicIterator[T](val items: immutable.Seq[T]) extends Iterator[T] {
diff --git a/project/Dependencies.scala b/project/Dependencies.scala
index 71b31d6691..a9c910e031 100644
--- a/project/Dependencies.scala
+++ b/project/Dependencies.scala
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ object Dependencies {
   val junitVersion = "4.12"
 
   val Versions = Seq(
-    crossScalaVersions := Seq("2.11.8"), // "2.12.0-RC1"
+    crossScalaVersions := Seq("2.11.8"), // "2.12.0-RC2"
     scalaVersion := crossScalaVersions.value.head,
     scalaStmVersion := sys.props.get("akka.build.scalaStmVersion").getOrElse("0.7"),
     scalaCheckVersion := sys.props.get("akka.build.scalaCheckVersion").getOrElse("1.13.2"),
@@ -28,7 +28,6 @@ object Dependencies {
     },
     java8CompatVersion := {
       scalaVersion.value match {
-        case x if x.startsWith("2.12.0-RC1") => "0.8.0-RC7"
         case x if x.startsWith("2.12.0") => "0.8.0-RC8"
         case _ => "0.7.0"
       }