Something I’ve noticed in this Battlefield is the abysmal point return for playing Support. I’ve watched, with growing frustration, Recon players rack up more score points from passive gadgets than the people whose entire job is to keep the team alive and supplied. Why is this still a thing? Did it slip under the radar, or is it deliberate design to punish the class that actually does the work?

IDK, In Conquest its pretty easy to be at the top of the scoreboard as Support even with an abysmal KDR game.

IDK, In Conquest its pretty easy to be at the top of the scoreboard as Support even with an abysmal KDR game.
Ikr, Support is the number one class for getting the most XP so long as they cap flags and stick with their teammates.
OP is living in some alternative dimension!

Stick with your team, cap or defend objectives, revive teammates, drop resupply bag at every opportunity, spot enemies every chance you get. If you're the squad leader, mark objectives you or your squad caps. I played Support almost exclusively the first season, frequently in the top 5 or top squad. Really not that hard...
EDIT: Try this loadout. Defibs, Resupply Bag, Resupply Pouch, Smoke, gun of choice. Like I said above, always be dropping resupply bag around your teammates. Defib or revive your teammates... toss smoke on top of them if they're in a dangerous spot. But in addition, toss resupply pouches at teammates too.

to get said supply pouch you need to complete the garbage suppork challenge smoke assists. Should get smoke assists from reviving people in smoke duh.

Stick with your team, cap or defend objectives, revive teammates, drop resupply bag at every opportunity, spot enemies every chance you get. If you're the squad leader, mark objectives you or your squad caps. I played Support almost exclusively the first season, frequently in the top 5 or top squad. Really not that hard...
EDIT: Try this loadout. Defibs, Resupply Bag, Resupply Pouch, Smoke, gun of choice. Like I said above, always be dropping resupply bag around your teammates. Defib or revive your teammates... toss smoke on top of them if they're in a dangerous spot. But in addition, toss resupply pouches at teammates too.
I appreciate the advice, but I’ve been playing Support in every form since Battlefield 1942. I know the role well. If I’m being honest, the meta in the later seasons has clearly favoured Engineer for points — they’re almost always sitting at the top of the leaderboards. That’s been my consistent experience, anyway. Tweak the scoring to properly reward the Support role and more players would actually pick it… and more importantly, they’d drop ammo. This isn’t a dig at any other class per se. Every role matters. I’m not here to start a flame war regarding them.

For what it is worth, I think the OP has a point regarding recons ability to be passively effective and easily score points.
I would agree support has to work harder and innately take greater risks to rack up points in comparison. If I look my own stats and gameplay, my score per minute is significantly higher when I play recon (but never as a sniper) compared to other classes (I mainly play either assault or recon, with support being my third role).
Recon can put down a TUGS and still get spot assists from it long after they've left, in addition to the wealth of assists it will grant in the moment. Then there's the other gadgets that help them passively gain points, and to top it all off (and this is the biggest moneymaker for me) they need only ADS in a general direction of enemies to auto spot - which is one of the worst mechanics in the game.
My KDA is also higher for recon, with the A part being the explanation. I understand recon gadgets are largely focussed on providing assists, but I would still agree with the OP's general sentiment.

support has the most useless gadgets in the game. No counter play against vehicles. On conquest you basically have to hide like a rat and pray

support has the most useless gadgets in the game. No counter play against vehicles. On conquest you basically have to hide like a rat and pray
🤣 This is true, the second I switch to support I always seem to run smack bang into more tanks.

Stick with your team, cap or defend objectives, revive teammates, drop resupply bag at every opportunity, spot enemies every chance you get. If you're the squad leader, mark objectives you or your squad caps. I played Support almost exclusively the first season, frequently in the top 5 or top squad. Really not that hard...
EDIT: Try this loadout. Defibs, Resupply Bag, Resupply Pouch, Smoke, gun of choice. Like I said above, always be dropping resupply bag around your teammates. Defib or revive your teammates... toss smoke on top of them if they're in a dangerous spot. But in addition, toss resupply pouches at teammates too.
I appreciate the advice, but I’ve been playing Support in every form since Battlefield 1942. I know the role well. If I’m being honest, the meta in the later seasons has clearly favoured Engineer for points — they’re almost always sitting at the top of the leaderboards. That’s been my consistent experience, anyway. Tweak the scoring to properly reward the Support role and more players would actually pick it… and more importantly, they’d drop ammo. This isn’t a dig at any other class per se. Every role matters. I’m not here to start a flame war regarding them.
All good. I've also played mostly Support since BF3. I would also recommend Breakthrough, as this game mode tends to funnel players naturally into choke points, giving you more opportunities to supply, rez, etc.

I miss almost always being the top player with a horrid K/d due to healing everyone and everything in other games

to get said supply pouch you need to complete the garbage suppork challenge smoke assists. Should get smoke assists from reviving people in smoke duh.
I dunno... I unlocked the supply pouch before they made the challenges easier to complete. And I did it legitimately, I might add, not through custom servers.

to get said supply pouch you need to complete the garbage suppork challenge smoke assists. Should get smoke assists from reviving people in smoke duh.
That's one of the easiest challenges there is, especially now that they made them easier. Getting 75 revives in a match was a challenging one. Now it's what, 20 revives. Something that you can get while being at the top fragging.

I mained Support since BF3, but switched to Engineer since Season 2.
I think there was a major issue with terrible medics just spamming defibs out in the open -- no drag-to-cover or even smoke -- and they would hit the top of the charts without actually contributing. They might be overcompensating for that. Also, i don't know why, but they seem to focus more on mortar fixes for Support than fundamental class fixes.