Tsubaki's damage is fine, and on par with the rest of the cast
No. She can't go over 2k without meter, while Bang and Ragna pull at least 3k per combo with ease.
Note that just because a character gets their damage up close does not necessarily mean they're rushdown-style characters
True, but Tsubaki can't do any damage from long range, has moves with the purpose of getting closer to her opponent like 236D, and gets her damage most easily through mix ups, resets, and other forms of close up pressure. That sounds like rushdown to me.
Keep in mind, also, that Ragna does not have the pressure game that Tsubaki does.
Ragna has amazing pokes that will lead into pressure and mix up one way or another at a close enough range, and his mix ups are better than Tsubaki's. Then there's the amount of pressure tools he has at his disposal like 6D and 214D. He also rewards much more than Tsubaki with correct guesses since his combos are always 3-4k, with great heat gain and oki at the same time, without even any meter either. Even if you still believe Tsubaki's pressure is better, it's a fact that Ragna gets his damage easier, as well with more rewards.
And god forbid that a character needs to use their drive to deal big damage.
Are you seriously saying that for a character like Tsubaki? She does less than 2k without charging, which is what her drive is used for. Without charging, she'd be worse than Rachel. If you're gonna use resets for more damage, her resets are limited since she has ONE overhead, and a pretty easy one to block at that. Even if you guess correctly, you still won't be doing much damage because again, no damage without meter. Tick throws are out of the question too with how easy they are to tech in this game.
It's not like any other character in Blazblue has to use their drive in any meaningful way to bring their damage up.
This statement is just ignorant. Jin needs his drive to do combos that hurt, and it's useful for pokes, pressure, and much more. Tager needs his drive to do his combos as well, and magnetism is a huge part of his game. Rachel is even more garbage than she is now without her drive. I could go on with every character in the game, but you get the point.