What drives a poor reputation for the Rogue class?

[Sorinth]

When I used the phrase "selfish class" to describe the 5e Rogue class, I was not making any reference to normative judgments on morality, I certainly was not thinking about D&D PvP or stealing from the party or other such actions.

I described the Rogue class as "selfish" because the base class abilities, (and most of the subclass abilities as well), are focused on the Rogue PC and not their friends.

The common Rogue play pattern of Hide, Pop out and Sneak Attack, go back and Hide, is "selfish", in the sense that often-times, the Rogue is not an available target for the opposition.

A Rogue, (or any PC), that is not taking their share of damage, can become problematic, as balancing incoming damage across a Party, is an important resource management tool.

Hide N' Sneak-Attack, as a tactic, places a larger burden of the incoming damage share on the remaining party members.

Evasion, as an ability, also plays into this disparity. Quite a bit of damage in 5e, calls for Dexterity Saving Throws for half damage. The Rogue and Monk have taken no damage, but the rest of the party is bedraggled from loss, is something I see quite a bit in play. The Fighter and Bard want to take a Short Rest, and the Rogue wants to keep on going, because Rogues only Short Rest for Hit Points....which is yet another point in which the Rogue is not on the same resource use path as some other classes, and a potential source of conflict.

Tactical habits also become ingrained. The Arcane Trickster/Bladesinger in my 20th level game, almost never will tank a creature, despite the fact that when their Bladesong is active, they have the highest AC in the party, and have the Shield spell and Uncanny Dodge to boot.

In the player's mind, their Rogue circles around the combat, waiting for a chance to strike, even though, their actual abilities make them an excellent choice for wading into the thick of things, and thriving.

Rogues, as a class, also generally lack control abilities, which in part explains why Arcane Trickster is as effective as it is; spells allow control. Other Rogue subclasses can throw nets, but let's face it, most players are not playing a Rogue, to throw nets. Grapple and lack of Extra Attack has been discussed enough, earlier.

Bardic Inspiration, is for me, the gold standard of a simple, yet flavorful ability, that subtly boosts the survivability of an Adventuring Group.

An Arcane Trickster with Silvery Barbs, can certainly aid their friends, and bring woe to their foes, just as a Thief with Healer Feat can be an excellent healer, but a player has to work at it. Paladins and Bards on the opposite end of the spectrum, have to work hard to not help their friends.

Rogues are great as the "fifth man" of an Adventuring Group, but I would likely prefer someone to play another class in a 4 person Adventuring Group, as it would open up other options.

Not sure how Evasion is selfish because they don't take damage, like I can understand your point about hiding and therefore not being targettable can lead to more damage dealt to the rest of the team which could be selfish but mitigating sorry but no. They were still targeted by the spell/trap/effect the fact that they mitigate the damage just means the healer doesn't have to cast spells on them and can help others instead which if anything is the opposite of being selfish.

And speaking of the hide every round tactic, just because the Rogue hid doesn't mean an enemy won't chase after them to try attack them. Like a Rogue hiding behind a tree and popping out every round to attack the orc war party doesn't prevent an orc from running up to that tree and attacking the Rogue.

Yeah the rogue doesn't have much in the way of directly buffing allies but that's true for quite a few classes and doesn't make any of them selfish.