yes not a bead tho, smear it across the surface at about 2 mm thick, pan and engine block. aka gasket and rtv samich

i think the thread sealant helps a lot too. once the pan is off you can see throught the pan bolt threaded holes in the block. im betting most of the leaks are the bolts, not so much the gasket, buy why take a chance. mines installed like this 2 years now, bone dry under there still.