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Advanced Order Blocks with Volume (MT4 & MT5)

9 January 2026, 01:59

Abir Pathak

Indicators Available here:

MT4 Version:

https://www.mql5.com/en/market/product/160816/

MT5 Version:

https://www.mql5.com/en/market/product/160817/

Introduction

Order blocks show you where big institutions bought or sold in size before a major price move.

And here’s the important part:

When price comes back to those same areas later, it often reacts again — because that’s where smart money is willing to step in.

This guide will show you:

What order blocks really are
How to spot them correctly
How to avoid bad signals
And how to actually trade them with confidence

What Are Order Blocks?

An order block forms when price moves sideways in a very tight range (usually 0.1% to 1%) while volume quietly builds up.

This is institutions accumulating or distributing positions without moving the market too much.

Then — boom — price breaks out.

That quiet zone before the explosion is your order block.

Think of it like this:

Big players can’t just buy or sell all at once. That would move price against them.

So instead, they:

Accumulate quietly
In tight ranges
With higher-than-normal volume

When you spot that combination, you’re probably looking at institutional activity.

There are two types:

Bullish Order Blocks

Form before a strong move up
Later act as support

Bearish Order Blocks

Form before a strong move down
Later act as resistance

The key idea:

It is difficult to spot fake or true breakouts right after an OB forms. Trick is to wait and watch for bounce back.

Price might not bounce back, but instead go through the block, in which case it was not a strong SR area and will thus be deleted.

But if price does bounce, it will start forming a range near it. Best trades are to wait for this range and then a strong price reversal candle:

Core Features (Quick Overview)

This indicator gives you:

Automatic detection of consolidation zones
Volume filtering to remove noise
Multiple volume calculation methods
Automatic removal of invalidated blocks
Forward projection of blocks
Entry and exit Orderblock alerts

Confluence Is King 👑

Order blocks work best when combined with:

Previous swing levels
Moving averages
Support & resistance (Pivots or Quarter areas)
Trendlines

More confirmations = stronger trade

Volume Matters

3.0x+ volume = very strong block
2.0x volume = weaker
The indicator helps filter these automatically

Best Settings by Timeframe

Scalping (15M+)

Consolidation: 2–3 bars
Volume lookback: 10–15
Threshold: 1.5x – 2.5x
Extension: 200–300 bars

Note that this indicator is more reliable over H1+ for longer trades. But if you need it for lower timeframes, only use for scalping very quick trades.

Day Trading (H1)

Consolidation: 3–4 bars
Volume lookback: 20
Threshold: 2.5x – 3.5x (or better yet - remove upper threshold by setting to 0)
Extension: 500 bars

Swing Trading (4H/Daily)

Consolidation: 4–5 bars
Volume lookback: 20–30
Threshold: 3x – 0 (remove upper threshold by setting to 0)
Enable Extend Till Current Bar

Trend Following (4H)

Consolidation: 3 bars
Volume lookback: 25
Threshold: 3.5x – 5.0x
Only trade with the trend

How the Indicator Works (In Simple Terms)

Consolidation Detection

It looks for 3+ candles in a very tight range
If volume is higher than normal → it marks it as an order block

Tight ranges = controlled, professional accumulation

Volume Calculation Methods

Simple: Basic comparison
Relative: Adjusts for market conditions (best for most people)
Weighted: Focuses more on recent volume

Volume Strength Filtering

You can choose to only show blocks between:

Example: 1.2x to 3.0x

This helps avoid weak signals.

You can also use the VolumeCandles.ex4 to see if a high volume bar bounces off the range forming near order block.

This indicator is attached below at end of post. Main idea is to look for confirmation.

Block Extension

Blocks are projected into the future
Default: 500 bars
Shows:
- How long a zone stays relevant
- Which zones are still in play

If Extend Till Current Bar is enabled, all blocks extend to the present candle.

Mitigation (Invalidation)

If price fully breaks through a block, it gets:

Automatically removed.

No more trading dead levels.

Full Settings

Main Settings

Object Prefix: For running multiple versions
Consolidation Lookback:
- Lower = more signals, lower quality
- Higher = fewer signals, higher quality
Breakout Threshold %:
- Lower = tighter, stronger blocks
Maximum Order Blocks: How many are shown

Volume Settings

Method: Simple / Relative / Weighted
Lookback: Usually 20
Threshold Range: Your acceptable volume strength
Refresh Rate: Speed vs CPU usage

Extension Settings

How far blocks project
How far back to scan
Whether to extend to current candle
Whether to avoid projecting too far into the future

Colors & Alerts

Customize bullish/bearish colors
Alerts for:
- Entry
- Exit
- true/false: Exit in direction of Order block type only: Trend-only exits

Why Order Blocks Actually Work

Institutions don’t chase price.

They:

Accumulate quietly
In tight ranges
Then defend those levels later

Order blocks let you see exactly where that happened.

So instead of guessing:

You’re trading where big money already committed.

Good volatility sideways market, price will keep closing the gaps between order blocks:

Common Questions

Which blocks should I trade?

The strongest volume ones
The most recent ones
The ones that line up with structure

Touched vs Broken?

Touch + reversal = valid
Clean break through = invalid (mitigated)

Should I trade every block?

No.

Always check:

Trend
Structure
Confluence

Best timeframe?

Works best: H1 to H4 (maybe even daily). But best is H1.
Too noisy on M1-M15
Too rare on Weekly

Debugging Known Issues:

Different timeframes/pairs will have different volume multipliers. Like EURUSD will have different volume ranges than somethings less traded like some stocks etc.

All default values are based on forex.

Keep Debug Buffers true. And set debugging bars. Then look at experts tab logs: