First time I tried switching to linux I went with mint and I had a lot of problems, everything I hated about windows seems to be even worse there. I switched back to windows for a year but last month I gave linux another shot with Manjaro. And I managed to fully switch to linux without any big problems so far. There is a lot to like about it, especially for a linux begginer like myself.
I am not really qualified to recommend it, but my experience as a noob has been great (gaming with linux native games and windows games, watching movies, customizing things, modding games…)
I’m not sure if empress will ever crack anything anymore.