i'm lvl 8 and I can barely take down a lvl 6 spawn in the arena, is this normal? or should I be able to defeat lvl 8 monsters? it could be because of my gear, if anyone has any good suggestions of what to look for of if you're selling some decent newb fighter gear, link me to the thread.

Looking at you're gear, yeah it should be hard for you to beat monsters. Try and get a EE weapon [the more the better] but I would just get a simple one that works for me, in you're case maybe a level 5 axe/sword/club with about 50ee. Also try getting some dex armor's and charms. As you level up try and upgrade you're items, try at least every 10-15 levels.

Read these fighter guides for more info :

http://forums.d2jsp.org/index.php?showtopic=17997568&f=272
http://forums.d2jsp.org/index.php?showtopic=6466900&f=272

that's just the gear i wear when i'm shopping or just sitting around, so i get that 2exp, i didn't know you could see my gear. I just changed it to what i wear when fighting, but i don't think it's much better

Just another tip, try to focus on one stat instead of spreading your points around.

Some people will tell you that spreading them around is better and gives versatility but focusing on one stat will make it a lot easier.

If you use a sword focus more on dexterity but if you use a axe focus on strength.

Hope this helps