Empire pass - yes. Well empire did improve. It is viable in arena now. I beat every team on offense - yes generally no big deal but it definitely was a big deal before the pass! Thrawn made it even better offering a huge bunch of tactical options in a fight - especially when run as leader.
So if u just look at the empire : Yes ! Empire has been improved significantly.
But (here we go) it's not just empire in arena ( and for a lot of players this is a main focus).
Relativly "easy" teams consisting of wiggs, Rex, r2, gk, dn , chaze ( as long as 2 -of these are in the squad ) are as successful on offense and maybe even better on defense. There are several reasons for it. The typical light side squad (with maybe a dn in) don't need top mods to succeed , the ai plays those toons better because they are far less complex. The probability of doing smth wrong in terms of modding or playstyl is also low. I could elaborate more on this but bearing in mind that there are countless threads about this specific topic - i think all is said.
So back to the main topic:
1. empire got stronger and viable.
2. Empire is fun (personal opinion though) cause u really can play tactical! I love that- thx for that Devs!
3. In relation to light side squads empire is frustrating weak. There is definitely an imbalance.
Fun and frustration are so close.... :-)