TL;DR: ZOS' racial numbers are out of whack - popular races are skewed already for massive numerical advantages, while 'lesser' races fall drastically behind them in all gameplay styles.

I will preface this (lengthy) message in advance that while I am no regular on these forums, anyone with functional eyesight and a sense of reason can just tell that Imperial as a race falls steeply behind every other race in terms of performance in almost every conceivable form. I have mained on an Imperial character for reasons of preference and roleplay since '15, but my alleged bias aside, there are gaping mathematical flaws which have caused it to fall from grace the way it has, and proven from tests by other helpful members of community. While I write this, I will also bring to light other races (like Argonian, while powerhouses in Live have been heavily maimed as a result of this PTS) who have been unfairly shafted in terms of statistical weighting.

Imperial, first of all, cannot perform a DPS role anywhere near as effectively as its stamina contemporaries (Bosmer, Khajiit, Redguard, Orc, though in no specific order of precedence), it most certainly has no place as a magicka build whether DPS or healer, and is a third-rate tank when compared to Argonian healing output (to self and allies), and Nord with superior basal resistance and even passive ultimate generation simply by taking damage. The real problem with Imperial's poor performance is tied heavily to its supposed niche as the 'cap race,' boasting nothing particularly spectacular save for massive HP and stamina. As of Live, it is nothing truly impressive when it comes to uniqueness, but holds up due to its robust scaling.

However, with the removal of race-locked percentage based bonuses, Imperial as a race has fallen drastically behind everything and everyone else in terms of its numerical bonuses, and complete divesting of racial identity. As of its current incarnation on PTS, its only claim to fame is its 2000HP, which is higher than any other race's HP bonus, and of course its hybrid regeneration of 333 to every single resource.

Its former advantage of having 10% increased stamina, now normalised to 2000 increased base stamina cap is now a benefit shared by nearly every other stamina race - including Bosmer, Redguard, and as per the recent update: Orc, and even practically Dunmer as well at 1875. Of every race, Imperial holds the highest HP bonus of all its contemporaries at 2k more HP, compared to Argonian & Nord at 1k more HP, and Khajiit at 850 as per PTS 4.3.2.

The cracks and racial imbalance really shows when you look at the numerical weighting of stats compared to the other races. Take for instance, the current iteration of Dunmer as per the current 4.3.2 model:

[ +1875 Magicka
+1875 Stamina
+258 Weapon Damage
+258 Spell Damage
+2310 Flame Damage Resistance & Immunity to 'Burning' effect]

Imperial, in comparison, has:

[ +2000 HP
+2000 Stamina
+Regenerates 333 HP/Stamina/Magicka every 5 seconds on direct damage
+5% Reduced Block/Bash Cost]

I will state before I continue that I hold no ill-will or negative criticism of Dunmer race (or any race) as a whole, and using it simply as a crux of discussion.The current argument so goes, that Imperial is a tanking race, and needs/deserves no such help in having boosts to weapon/spell damage, and that the sustain from the updated Red Diamond passive is justifiable. Whether or not this is valid, becomes particularly absurd when you look at the sheer numerical disparity between Dunmer and Imperial, to the point that Dunmer would probably make a superior tank in that they take far less damage from the most common elemental damage in the game, very comparable stamina caps (a difference of 2000 and 1875 is small enough to be considered insignificant at a value of 125 points), and even higher magicka to assist with utility abilities (i.e. Dragonknight chains).

Dunmer self-sustain and healing is also arguably superior by virtue of their Weapon Damage and Spell Damage, by which Vigor/any magicka heal with exception of Health Cap based healing, scales by. Imperial's 'superiority' as a tank hinges on its HP bulk, and that its block cost is a very small (additive, multiplicative? Need clarification in future edits) 5% bonus which may stack with Sturdy traits, CP's, and Class/Weapon passives. Bash is so conditional that 5% reduction in its activation will barely be felt as much as a permanent boon such as Flame Damage Resistance.

From an external point of view, the amount of statistical weighting of Dunmer, tremendously exceeds that of Imperial. According to rough damage scaling ratios, every 10.5 stam/mag = 1 WD/SD. By this logic, Dunmer has effectively 1875 stamina... with 2709 stamina on top. Normalising the weapon/spell damage into raw comparative resources has us the following summary stats:

[ +4584 Magicka
+4584 Stamina
+2310 Flame Damage Resistance & Immunity to 'Burning' effect]

Dunmer thus holds a statistical total of 9168 stats, which is a colossal difference between Imperial which has a statistical total of 4000 stats, of which HP is weighted far less than Stamina/Magicka. Naysayers may argue that Dunmer have traded their raw destructive power in exchange for receiving zero sustain passives. By similar principle, Argonian has an even tinier statistical total of 2000 stats (+1000 magicka, +1000HP), with a very albeit conditional sustain attached to potion consumption.

I deeply welcome both ZOS employees, and you, my fellow players to continue contributing to the discussion and actually promote *true* balance between races, not just in numerical functionality and freedom of unique playstyles, but to ensure that the reworked races are also reflective of their authentic lore. I am curious as to hear your thoughts on this topic of racial rework too! Forgive me for the word wall!