How difficult would you rate strut replacement?

[18IsTheMan]

I need to replace the front struts on my 2001 L200. Apparently the driver's side strut has been leaking. I have essentially no mechanic experience at all (apart from changing my own oil) besides replacing my blower motor one time. I just did my front brakes last week and that seemed to be a pretty easy repair for me (once I got the caliper pins loose) even though I'd never done brakes before.

That said, I'm wondering how difficult a job it is to replace the struts. After hearing how much it would cost to have my brakes replaced ($140 for the cheapest) and then finding out I could get a set of brake pads for $23 and replace them on my in less than 1 hour, I'm not too keen on paying for stuff I can do on my own.

I just assumed it's a beast of a job, but a friend of mine who has about as much mechanic experience as I do said he did his struts once and it wasn't bad.

For anyone who has done strut replacement, how difficult would you rate it? If replacing brake pads is a 1 on scale of 1-10, where would you put struts?

Also, I looked on several auto parts websites and there are all kinds of strut-related parts (boot kit, bellow, boot, spring seat, strut mount, etc). If all I have is a leaky strut, do I just need to replace the struts and that's all, or do you always have to replace all that other stuff too?

Last question. Is this the kind of job that can be done with regular tools (wrenches, sockets, etc) or are there all kinds of exotic tools you need? I know I'll apparently need to rent a spring compressor. Other than that?