i think its better to play caro-kann instead of pirc against 1.e4
Is it truly bad to play the Pirc as a beginner?

i think its better to play caro-kann instead of pirc against 1.e4
I agree with this.

If you understand how King's Indian works, Pirc should be easy, however, as you mentioned, hypermodern defenses [along with sicilian] are not advised for begginers since they are sharp and in the sicilian's case, very theoretical. If you don't know the lines you will end up worse because you cannot correctly strike the center. If you feel comfortable in closed positions, go for it.

A beginner should learn the basics of opening strategy before playing an opening that goes against opening principles.
This isn’t to say the Pirc is a bad opening.

Pirc is a great opening, just make sure you know what to do against Austrian attack + 150 attack. As someone else said, if you know the KID then the pic should be easy. You need to know some lines...
I would recommend watching Robert remirez YouTube to get better at the pirc.

Thanks to all, I've studied the lines a lot on chessbook. For a more 'principled' opening what would you suggest? Caro-Kann?

Thanks to all, I've studied the lines a lot on chessbook. For a more 'principled' opening what would you suggest? Caro-Kann?
Well, Caro has been my main opening against e4 for almost 3 years now so yea, I'd naturally suggest you that. It's natural, very solid and not as drawish like Petrov or some other stuff.

I'm rated 1900 rapid, and I'm not sure I'm ready to study the Pirc, if that's any indication to you.

Of course I don't play it against everything, I usually change plans when some moves are played and have different approaches, however, many people have suggested me to 'play open', and since I practiced the 2 knight's defense my win rate as black has plummeted.
I did pretty well with the Czech (55% won, 40% lost, rest draws), now I barely get a 50/50 chance. With white I do play with more initiative and have around a 60+% win rate.
I know there's a period of adjustment when changing openings, but I like the idea of playing a bit slower as black, let them have the center and then striking back. I'm often good at tactics so I made good counters or come-backs. With the 2 knights defense I find myself in chaotic games and never being able to develop tension in the center, most of the time games ended up being decided by who makes the least blunders which I don't like at all.
It kind of shocks me mentally as well, since before I didn't find cumbersome to play as black, now I'm beginning to assume I'll struggle.
Aside from having a lot of theory, why shouldn't I play hypermodern openings as a beginner? Unless I answered everything with it like a london system player I truly don't see the issue.
If you have any advice or any repertoire suggestions I'd be grateful.
Nothing wrong with the Pirc, especially the Czech version. Sounds to me you don't need to change your opening. Gukesh plays the Pirc in blitz, so does Magnus, and they're world champions, so why couldn't you. Hikaru plays similar stuff too. If you insist on changing, go for a Dragon version of the Sicilian, those are quite close to the Pirc / Modern. Caro-Kann is completely different, and 2 Knights even more so, of course you're going to struggle at first if you make a big change like that.
Of course I don't play it against everything, I usually change plans when some moves are played and have different approaches, however, many people have suggested me to 'play open', and since I practiced the 2 knight's defense my win rate as black has plummeted.
I did pretty well with the Czech (55% won, 40% lost, rest draws), now I barely get a 50/50 chance. With white I do play with more initiative and have around a 60+% win rate.
I know there's a period of adjustment when changing openings, but I like the idea of playing a bit slower as black, let them have the center and then striking back. I'm often good at tactics so I made good counters or come-backs. With the 2 knights defense I find myself in chaotic games and never being able to develop tension in the center, most of the time games ended up being decided by who makes the least blunders which I don't like at all.
It kind of shocks me mentally as well, since before I didn't find cumbersome to play as black, now I'm beginning to assume I'll struggle.
Aside from having a lot of theory, why shouldn't I play hypermodern openings as a beginner? Unless I answered everything with it like a london system player I truly don't see the issue.
If you have any advice or any repertoire suggestions I'd be grateful.
Other than the amount of theory, there might be a perception that the Pirc Defense is a hard to understand defense. It is typically easier to learn how to play in a classical fashion in occupying the center rather than counterattacking it.
You already seem to have a sense of the types of positions that you feel comfortable playing. In my opinion, whenever you feel like you hit a road block with an opening your two choices are 1) Work on understanding it better or 2) Switch to a different opening. The problem that you might be running into is just that you are facing stronger opposition and need to improve your understanding of the Czech Pirc. I'd try and find any GM's who play the Czech Pirc or Pirc and play through as many games of theirs as possible.
If you do feel that a switch is necessary, I'd look into the Sicilian Accelerated Dragon (or Hyper Accelerated Dragon) or the Alekhine Defense to get the types of positions you had earlier.

Thanks, well, while it's true that I'm starting to face stronger players, I still think I feel more comfortable with the czech pirc, even in games I've lost, I usually had some sort of advantage before I made a mistake or misclicked. I think I'll play the czech and practice the caro-kann on my lichess account and daily matches.
Of course I don't play it against everything, I usually change plans when some moves are played and have different approaches, however, many people have suggested me to 'play open', and since I practiced the 2 knight's defense my win rate as black has plummeted.
I did pretty well with the Czech (55% won, 40% lost, rest draws), now I barely get a 50/50 chance. With white I do play with more initiative and have around a 60+% win rate.
I know there's a period of adjustment when changing openings, but I like the idea of playing a bit slower as black, let them have the center and then striking back. I'm often good at tactics so I made good counters or come-backs. With the 2 knights defense I find myself in chaotic games and never being able to develop tension in the center, most of the time games ended up being decided by who makes the least blunders which I don't like at all.
It kind of shocks me mentally as well, since before I didn't find cumbersome to play as black, now I'm beginning to assume I'll struggle.
Aside from having a lot of theory, why shouldn't I play hypermodern openings as a beginner? Unless I answered everything with it like a london system player I truly don't see the issue.
If you have any advice or any repertoire suggestions I'd be grateful.