Is survivor (spec. bow) actually any good ? it seems so weak.
For your 1st time through the game you picked, IMHO, the weakest starting character. I have played the Warrior and Mage already and both are very powerful. I am playing a Survivor this time, and they seem to become fairly powerful late in Act II or early Act III.
To be honest it is hard for me not to switch him to a Mage, but I want to finish the game with one of each character. If you are going to restart the game you might try the Warrior (the Mage is way more powerful, but is pretty still weak in Act I)