Oldstir:This topic has been done to death and if we don't stop complaining; it's more likely costs will go up; not down? :)
And it was established that ball durability has not decreased.
The better your game gets, the fewer times you hit the ball per round, the less frequently you have to buy balls on a per round basis.
The most durability is 2.5 dots, and MAX balls only have 2 dots worth of durability.
If the MAX ball meter speed, to durability, to cost ratio doesn't seem to be a good value to you - don't buy them.