Total budget (in local currency) and country of purchase. Please do not use USD unless purchasing in the US:

Up to around $2000.

Are you open to refurbs/used?

No.

How would you prioritize form factor (ultrabook, 2-in-1, etc.), build quality, performance, and battery life?

Performance, Build quality, Battery life, Form factor.

How important is weight and thinness to you?

Neither are super important, the fact that it is a laptop makes it thin/light enough for me.

Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/A.

13 inches

Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming? List which programs/games you desire to run.

Krita, League of Legends, Minecraft

If you're gaming, do you have certain games you want to play? At what settings and FPS do you want?

Mainly LOL, 60 fps.

Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)?

Would not say no to an optical drive. Don't care about Touchscreen or finger-print reader.

Leave any finishing thoughts here that you may feel are necessary and beneficial to the discussion.

I currently have a 2013 MacBook Pro, which I have been using up till now. Don't know much about computers but as far as I can tell, getting away from apple is a good move(if wrong, please say so). I was in Best Buy looking at all the computers but ended up feeling really lost/overwhelmed as to what to look at and how to compare the laptops. So much has changed and there are so many choices. My plan it to use the laptop for day-to-day general stuff, some gaming, films, and for going back to school. If nothing more I would appreciate if someone could point me in the right direction, and I can do more research on different laptops.