About a year ago I did the maelstrom arena (normal), and dang, I died a lot. It didn't matter which class I brought in, I got wrecked and my characters corpses were used to wipe the floor of the arena. I actually was able to complete the normal arena with all my characters but not without dying at least 30 times per arena run. I also tried VMA and of course I didn't make it.
In an attempt to gain the arena dremora plunder skull, I headed towards the maelstrom arena, again on normal. Rushed straight in, without taking the quest. I thought I would only have to slay the first boss to get the dremora skull. After the first chest didn't contain one, I was quite disappointed and realized I had to do this whole arena again to get a dremora skull. So, since I already bothered to complete the first round, I went on and finished the entire arena. And ooohhh boy, it was so extremely easy. I one-shot almost all of the arenas combatants with poison injection and the bosses health pools melted as if they were some nooby quest mobs. I completed the entire arena within 30 minutes and I didn't die once. I never even came close to dying. I remember, a year ago, I failed so incredibly often at the ice and the poison stages, I actually were shouting out of frustration, every single time I died. But this time it were the mobs who got wiped the floor with. This was the very first time I actually enjoyed this stupid arena. Apparently, I became a better ESO player over the past year, without even realizing it. Though, I still cannot exceed 23k dps. With this recent success, however, I'm actually attempted to go for another vet run. I have a feeling I might be able to do it now. Without this year's witches event, I probably still wouldn't know what I am capable of. I strongly advise anyone else, who had serious problems with the maelstrom arena and then just gave up on it, to give it another try. You might see the same results and rediscover content, you originally thought, you would never ever approach again.

Little tip for the witches festival skeleton slayer achievement. It does look like another grind fest but a quarter skyreach catacombs run will finish this achievement. When you enter the catacombs just take the left path and slay your way to that chest room. After laying waste to everything spawning out of it, you will have the achievement already. Happy dremora skull farming and skeleton massacre everyone!