why did they change the battle system??

i loved the system on D2 that was the thing that made the game unique!

D3 is almost an exact copy of HoMM now

No doubt D2 battle is unique but not necessary the best

The new one allow more tactical option and with careful planning you can defeat a larger/stronger forces , something that rarely be achieve in the old battle system

I also like the idea of expanding upon the battle system, making it more tactical, akin to some of the tactical turn based games with the traditional grid mapping, where you can employ terrain and the like to your advantage, which from reading some reviews, it seems that D3 is a step in that direction (thought not fully that). Perhaps in future expansions, even more strategy can be added to that.

D2 was great, I loved it, and I hope D3 follows closely to it, but if I had to pick one aspect a bit more "thinking" could go into, it would be the battle. Hopefully the battle system continues to develop and get some love by the devs.

I agree with second "posters". The new battle system allows more tactical choices, and I also hope they plan to expand that battle system instead of the older one