What drives a poor reputation for the Rogue class?

[KorvinStarmast]

I'm not overly fond of just slapping spell on everything as a fix. Not only does it reinforce the idea that all cool options are spells, it lazy and the power budget is all over the place.

If you go to the original post I made on this a few pages back, I pointed out that
you can make it a feature,
another Martial Character has a level 5 spell as a feature that is thematic at about that level.

An assassin who can disappear (for up to 8 hours) even from magical detection begins to address the complaints about upper Tier 2 and Lower Tier 3 foes ... who have all kinds of ways to see otherwise locate the assassin as currently written.

No, it is not just slapping a spell on the Assassin, it is adding a very thematic ability that fits into the challenges at that level and beyond, something which was already done in the PHB for the Barbarian at a similar level: 10 versus 9.

And it need not even be the spell precisely; present it as a feature.

They Can't Find You. (The eminence gris, fit to a T).