The Impossible Bullion — Optimisation & Set File Guide

The Impossible Bullion v3.23 — Optimisation & Settings Guide

This guide explains how Bullion is configured, what each major setting does, how to adapt the EA to different brokers and prop-rule environments, and how matched presets are handled after purchase. This page is intentionally configuration-focused: it does not publish genome files or expose private preset downloads. For general product information see the Bullion product page.

Quick link	Purpose
Private message the seller	Preset requests, broker / prop matching, purchase support, configuration questions
Discord community	Forward-test discussion, setup help, release notices, trader chat
Live signal	Live signal coming soon
Product page	Market listing, updates, screenshots, public comments

Recommended Raw ECN Broker

The Impossible Bullion has been extensively tested across multiple broker conditions. For live raw-ECN execution on XAUUSD, we recommend RoboForex for tighter pricing and cleaner execution with this strategy profile.

Open Recommended Raw ECN Broker (RoboForex)

What To Send If You Want A Matched Preset

• MQL5 username used to purchase Bullion
• Proof of purchase from that MQL5 account
• Broker or prop firm name
• Account type — raw / ECN, standard, challenge, funded, instant-funded
• Drawdown rules — max DD, daily DD, and whether the DD floor is static or trailing
• Typical XAUUSD spread during the hours you intend to trade
• Commission model if applicable
• Balance / account size
• Any broker suffix or symbol variation such as XAUUSD.a, GOLDmicro, etc.

The more precise your execution details are, the closer the matched preset can be to your real environment.

Starting Point

When examples below do not specify an environment, assume a raw / ECN retail-style baseline with tight spread and commission pricing. That is the cleanest starting point for Bullion because spreads are tighter, fills are cleaner, and spread-related filters can stay more selective.

Backtest mode reminder: for Bullion, use Every Tick (recommended) or 1 Minute OHLC; avoid Real Ticks when validating regime-dependent behavior.

Strategy Tester: How To Test Your Set File

If you received a genome set file by private message, test that exact set file in MT5 Strategy Tester before going live. The goal is to verify that your local broker feed and execution profile produce behavior consistent with the intended preset profile.

Step	What to do	Why it matters
1	Select The Impossible Bullion on XAUUSD M5 in Strategy Tester	Bullion presets are tuned for this symbol/timeframe profile.
2	Load the provided .set file in Inputs	Ensures you are validating the intended genome, not terminal defaults.
3	Use Every Tick (recommended) or 1 Minute OHLC	These modes are the supported test basis for Bullion regime behavior.
4	Run an in-sample and out-of-sample window, then compare trade quality and DD behavior	Checks profile stability, not just one period's headline result.
5	Only change one major parameter at a time, then re-test	Multiple simultaneous edits create a new unvalidated strategy profile.

Why Not Real Ticks For Bullion Regime Validation

Bullion uses a weekly regime filter that reads W1 structure to decide directional gating and trade permission. In Strategy Tester, weekly bars are reconstructed from lower-timeframe data rather than loaded as true broker-side weekly closes. This can shift weekly bar alignment and distort regime decisions during backtests.

Because of that, Real Ticks can produce misleading W1 regime outcomes for Bullion even though it appears more precise intrabar. For Bullion testing, Every Tick is the recommended mode and 1 Minute OHLC is the acceptable faster alternative. This is a tester-modeling limitation; live trading reads actual broker-feed weekly bars.

Environment	Use when	Main adjustments
Raw / ECN retail baseline	Tight spread XAUUSD, commission model, no prop DD rules	Moderate MaxSpread, PropFirm OFF, static risk, tighter spread filtering
Wider raw retail	Still commission-based, but spread spikes more often	Raise MaxSpread modestly, keep SpreadMultiplier realistic, re-check trailing profile
Standard 10/5 challenge-style prop	Typical 10% max / 5% daily rule set	Enable PropFirm, set PropMaxDD / PropDailyDD correctly, use conservative risk and trade caps
Stricter 6/3 prop	Narrower 6% max / 3% daily rule set	Lower risk, earlier Yellow / Red zones, stricter spread acceptance, more conservative trade frequency

Spread, Execution, And Rule Mapping

Spread Calibration

Observed XAUUSD conditions	Typical approach	What usually changes
Very tight raw / ECN	Keep entry filter selective	Lower MaxSpread, lower tolerance for random spread spikes
Acceptable but wider raw	Allow slightly more entry tolerance without normalising bad execution	Raise MaxSpread moderately, keep SpreadMultiplier realistic
Standard-spread account	Not preferred for Bullion	Re-test before use; wider spread often requires materially different TP / SL behavior and lower expectancy

Do not raise MaxSpread just to force more trades. If valid trades are being blocked, first confirm your real spread distribution during Bullion's trading hours. A spread filter that is too loose often converts a good genome into a low-quality execution profile.

Prop Rule Calibration

Rule style	Key inputs to review	Notes
Standard 10/5 challenge-style	EnablePropFirm, PropMaxDD, PropDailyDD, PropDDMode, Yellow/Red/Dead thresholds	Use the exact daily / total DD rules published by your firm, not a brand name assumption
Stricter 6/3 prop	Same inputs as above, with lower risk and earlier zone tightening	Usually requires lower risk-per-trade and tighter trade-frequency discipline
Trailing DD floor	PropDDMode=DD_TRAILING_HWM	Use only if the firm truly ratchets the DD floor with peak equity / balance
Static start-balance DD floor	PropDDMode=DD_STATIC_INITIAL	Most common choice for standard challenge accounts

Settings Reference

The tables below explain what each group of parameters does and how to think about the trade-offs. They are configuration notes, not optimisation promises.

1. Strategy Core

Parameter	What it changes	Practical guidance
Timeframe	Chart timeframe Bullion reads for entry logic	Use XAUUSD M5. Do not treat other timeframes as equivalent.
LookbackBars	Size of the breakout range window	Lower values react faster; higher values need more structure before breakout.
BufferPips	Distance beyond the range required before entry qualifies	Raise it if you want fewer, cleaner breakouts; lower it if entries are too delayed.
MinRangePips	Minimum range size required to consider the setup valid	Raise it to avoid compressed sessions; lower it only if you have tested thin-range behavior carefully.
MaxRangePips	Upper limit on range size	Usually left wide. Lower only if extremely expanded pre-breakout sessions are polluting entries.
MinScoreToTrade	Primary quality threshold for Bullion's scoring engine	One of the most sensitive settings. Raising it usually reduces frequency and can improve selectivity; lowering it usually increases activity and noise.
MaxScoreToTrade	Optional upper band limit	Normally leave at 0 (off). Useful only for research or band testing.

2. D1 Gate And D1 Classifier

Parameter	What it changes	Practical guidance
RegimeGateEnabled	Enables the lightweight D1 ADX chop gate	Good first layer if you want simple chop rejection before enabling the full D1 classifier.
RegimeGateTF	Timeframe used for the gate ADX	Leave at D1 unless you are deliberately researching a different regime horizon.
RegimeGatePeriod	ADX period for the simple gate	Higher values smooth more; lower values react faster and can flicker more.
RegimeGateMinADX	Minimum ADX needed for entries to stay open to new trades	Raise it to block more choppy days; lower it to allow more marginal regimes.
RegimeClassifierEnabled	Enables the full 5-factor D1 regime classifier	More advanced than the simple gate. Best enabled only after observation and logging.
RegimeClassifierMode	0=diagnostic, 1=block chop, 2=direction-aware	Use diagnostic first if you are not sure how the votes behave on your broker feed.
RegimeAdxTrendMin	ADX threshold for trend vote	Raise for stricter trend recognition; lower for more permissive trend votes.
RegimeAdxChopMax	ADX threshold for chop vote	Higher values classify more days as chop; lower values require cleaner trendlessness before blocking.
RegimeAtrPctMax	ATR % ceiling used inside the classifier	Controls how stretched daily conditions are interpreted. Do not change casually.
RegimeDiagCSV	Writes classifier diagnostics to file	Recommended before enabling live blocking in a new environment.
MaxHoldBars	Maximum bar duration for any open trade	Useful if you want to prevent extended holds on M5.
CooldownBars	Pause between trades after a close	Useful to suppress rapid re-entry loops in volatile periods.

3. Session Filter

Parameter	What it changes	Practical guidance
SessionStart / SessionEnd	Main trading window in GMT	Use the liquid part of the day for XAUUSD. All-hours configurations typically sit around London through New York.
ExcludeStart / ExcludeEnd	Optional sub-window inside the main session where entries are suppressed	Use only if your testing shows a reliably poor intraday pocket.
BlockMonday ... BlockFriday	Per-day trading switches	Useful if one weekday is consistently weak on your broker feed.

Bullion supports SessionStart > SessionEnd for overnight windows that wrap midnight. That allows one continuous session without splitting into two charts.

4. Risk

Parameter	What it changes	Practical guidance
RiskPerTrade	Percent of equity risked per trade when using dynamic sizing	Lower it first on prop accounts. This is the first place to reduce aggression.
CompoundAggressive	Whether sizing compounds with current equity	Leave on for normal compounding; turn off if you want steadier sizing relative to start balance.
FixedLots	Overrides risk-based sizing with a fixed lot size	Use only if you intentionally want manual lot control.
MinLotSize / MaxLotSize	Caps on calculated position size	Important for very small or very large accounts.
MagicNumber	Unique trade identifier	Change when running multiple Bullion instances on one terminal.

5. TP / SL And Spread

Parameter	What it changes	Practical guidance
TP_Pips	Fixed take-profit distance	One of the core expectancy settings. Do not alter without re-testing the full exit profile.
SL_Pips	Fixed stop-loss distance	Must be considered together with trailing and breakeven behavior.
MaxSpread	Hard entry block above this spread level	Match this to your real XAUUSD spread distribution. Too high usually harms quality more than it helps activity.
SpreadMultiplier	Minimum-stop safety buffer relative to spread	Higher values are more conservative. Use realistic values for ECN/raw execution.

6. ATR Scaling

Parameter	What it changes	Practical guidance
UseATRScaling	Replaces fixed TP / SL with ATR-based values	Leave off unless you are intentionally building and testing a volatility-adaptive profile.
SL_ATR_Mult	ATR multiplier used for stop-loss	Lower = tighter stop; higher = more room.
TP_ATR_Mult	ATR multiplier used for take-profit	Usually kept above the SL multiplier to preserve a healthy reward structure.

7. Trade Management

Parameter	What it changes	Practical guidance
UseBreakeven	Moves stop after price reaches a trigger	Can reduce left-tail risk, but can also cut good trades too early if the trigger is too tight.
BreakevenTrigger	Profit distance before breakeven activates	Lower values protect earlier but often reduce follow-through room.
BreakevenOffset	Offset beyond entry after breakeven fires	Useful if you want small locked profit instead of exact flat break-even.
UseTrailingStop	Enables trailing stop management	One of Bullion's most important exit tools.
TrailingStart	Profit distance before trailing begins	Lower = earlier protection; higher = more room for trade development.
TrailingStep	Distance maintained once trailing is active	Tighter values lock profit faster but can choke runners.
EnableTPExtension	Enables Progressive TP Extension	Bullion-exclusive feature. Useful when strong moves regularly push beyond the first TP.
ExtendTPTriggerATR	How close price must get before extension logic arms	Lower values trigger later; higher values trigger earlier.
ExtendTPByPips	How far TP is pushed each time	Larger steps chase bigger runners but can also delay realization.
ExtendTPMaxCount	Max number of TP extensions	0 means unlimited.
ExtendTPRatchetSL	Whether SL is shifted when TP extends	Mainly useful if trailing is off and you still want additional protection.

8. Protection

Parameter	What it changes	Practical guidance
MaxDrawdown	Total account-level halt threshold	Set it to your personal or firm risk ceiling.
MaxDailyLoss	Daily halt threshold	Critical for funded or challenge-style accounts.
MaxOpenTrades	Maximum concurrent positions	Default one-trade structure is the safest baseline.
MaxTradesPerDay	Daily trade cap	Use to prevent overtrading during noisy sessions.
MaxConsecLosses	Daily stop after a losing streak	Useful if the strategy degrades sharply once regime quality falls.

9. News Filter

Parameter	What it changes	Practical guidance
EnableNewsFilter	Blocks entries around high-impact events	Recommended for live trading. Tester does not emulate MT5 calendar behavior.
NewsMinutesBefore	Pre-news blackout window	Raise it if your broker often widens aggressively before events.
NewsMinutesAfter	Post-news blackout window	Raise it if post-event whipsaw remains unstable on your feed.

10. Shield

Parameter	What it changes	Practical guidance
EnableShield	Enables the equity-peak circuit breaker	Useful when you want the EA to stand down after giving back too much from a peak.
ShieldArmPct	Profit milestone before Shield fully arms	Higher means Shield waits longer before becoming active.
ShieldDrawdownPct	Drawdown from shield peak that triggers it	Lower values protect faster; higher values allow more giveback.
ShieldRecovery	0=permanent, 1=next day, 2=recovery-based reset	Choose the reset style that matches your account management rules.
ShieldRecoveryPct	Required recovery before re-enable in recovery mode	Only used when ShieldRecovery=2.

11. Prop Firm Mode

Parameter	What it changes	Practical guidance
EnablePropFirm	Turns on zone-based risk control	Enable only when the account is actually governed by explicit DD rules.
PropMaxDD / PropDailyDD	Maximum total and daily DD limits	These must match your actual firm rules exactly.
PropYellowPct / PropRedPct / PropDeadPct	Thresholds for zone changes	More conservative profiles move into Yellow and Red earlier.
YellowRiskMult / RedRiskMult	Risk reduction inside warning zones	Lower multipliers reduce size more aggressively as DD budget is consumed.
YellowMaxTrades / RedMaxTrades	Trade cap overrides in warning zones	Useful for cutting trade frequency as the account approaches limits.
YellowMinScore / RedMinScore	Minimum score floors inside warning zones	Raise to demand cleaner setups while under stress.
PropStartBalance	Reference start balance for DD calculations	Leave at 0 for auto-history reconstruction unless you specifically need manual override.
PropDDMode	Static or trailing DD floor	Use the firm's actual rule wording, not marketing shorthand, to choose the mode.

12. Weekly Regime Filter

Parameter	What it changes	Practical guidance
EnableRegimeFilter	Enables W1 trend detection	Core Bullion filter. Normally left on.
RegimeEMAPeriod	Weekly EMA period used by the filter	Lower reacts faster; higher smooths more.
RegimeLookback	How many W1 bars are used for slope reading	Higher values create a slower, more stable trend state.
RegimeMinSlope	Minimum slope magnitude to classify trend	Raise it to avoid weak-trend classification; lower it to accept softer trend states.
TrendMode	How trade direction is allowed relative to the weekly trend	Bullion-specific directional control. Use the mode matrix below for weekly UP, DN, and FLAT behavior.

Mode	Weekly trend UP	Weekly trend DN	Weekly FLAT
TREND_BOTH	Buys & sells	Buys & sells	Buys & sells
TREND_WITH_ONLY (default)	Buys only	Sells only	Buys & sells
TREND_WITH_SKIP_FLAT	Buys only	Sells only	No trades
TREND_BUY_ONLY	Buys only	Buys only	Buys only
TREND_SELL_ONLY	Sells only	Sells only	Sells only

TREND_WITH_ONLY is the default for Bullion. Use TREND_BOTH if you want Gold-style both-direction behavior, TREND_WITH_SKIP_FLAT if you want the EA to stand aside when the weekly trend is unclear, and TREND_BUY_ONLY / TREND_SELL_ONLY for pure directional overlays.

13. Additional Prop Filters

Parameter	What it changes	Practical guidance
EnablePropFilters	Master switch for the additional prop-only filters	Useful when you want extra protection beyond the normal score and regime stack.
FilterCounterTrendH1	Blocks entries against H1 EMA50 slope	Can reduce counter-trend exposure, but may also cut valid reversals.
FilterMinADX	Blocks low-ADX entries	Use with care; it can overlap with other trend-strength filters.
MinADXForEntry	ADX threshold used by FilterMinADX	Higher values allow only stronger momentum states.

14. Audit, Direction Exclusions, Discord, And Display

Parameter	What it changes	Practical guidance
LogTradeFactors	Writes per-trade score audit CSV	Enable when diagnosing why trades did or did not happen.
AuditCSVPrefix	Sets the audit filename prefix	Useful when separating logs by environment.
BuyExcludeStart / End	Suppresses buys during selected GMT hours	Use only if a directional intraday bias is consistently poor on your broker.
BuyExclude2Start / End	Second buy exclusion zone	Use if you need two separate buy-suppression windows.
SellExcludeStart / End	Suppresses sells during selected GMT hours	Same logic as buy exclusions.
DiscordWebhookURL	Main Discord webhook	Blank disables alerts.
DiscordRecapWebhookURL	Optional separate recap webhook	Leave blank to reuse the main webhook.
DiscordAlertOnOpen / Close	Trade event alerts	Normal live-monitoring settings.
DiscordWeeklyRecap	Monday performance recap	Useful for VPS-based unattended monitoring.
DiscordStartupPing	Startup confirmation message	Strongly recommended for VPS setups.
SetDescription	Instance label shown on dashboard and in alerts	Important if you run multiple Bullion charts.
ShowDashboard	Shows the on-chart panel	Usually left on.
ShowChartExtras	Extra overlays and labels	Personal preference unless you want a cleaner chart.
ShowATRWarning	Displays elevated daily ATR warning	Recommended on.
DebugMode	Verbose logging	Use only when troubleshooting.

Example Configuration Logic

Situation	Usually review first	Why
Broker spread is tighter than expected	MaxSpread	You may be able to keep entry quality tighter without losing valid trades.
Broker spread is wider than raw baseline	MaxSpread, SpreadMultiplier, TP / SL behavior	Do not simply lift MaxSpread aggressively; confirm the entire exit structure still makes sense.
10/5 challenge account	EnablePropFirm, PropMaxDD, PropDailyDD, PropDDMode, risk, trade caps	The rule framework matters more than brand naming.
6/3 account	Same as above, but with lower risk and earlier zone tightening	Narrower DD tolerance requires faster defensive behavior.
Too many low-quality entries	MinScoreToTrade, RegimeGateEnabled, RegimeClassifier	Raise selectivity before touching exits.
Too many trades in poor intraday pockets	Session window, exclusion hours, weekday blocks	Time-of-day filtering often fixes this more cleanly than changing score thresholds.
Good trades stop out too early	TrailingStart, TrailingStep, breakeven, SL structure	Exit logic is usually the issue, not entry logic.

Deployment Checklist

1. Attach Bullion to XAUUSD M5
2. Confirm broker symbol, digits, and spread behavior
3. Set your core environment: retail raw, wider raw, standard 10/5 prop, or stricter 6/3 prop
4. Verify PropDDMode against the firm's actual rule wording if funded / challenge
5. Set a unique MagicNumber and meaningful SetDescription
6. Configure Discord webhook if you want live monitoring
7. Demo test for 2 to 4 weeks
8. Only then move to live or funded deployment

Final Notes

This guide explains how to configure Bullion intelligently. It does not replace broker-specific or rule-specific testing. The same EA can behave differently across feeds because spread, slippage, execution style, and DD rules materially affect the realised profile.

If you want the closest available preset for your environment, send a private message to the seller with your MQL5 username, proof of purchase, and your broker / prop details. If you do not need a matched preset, this guide gives you the framework to configure Bullion manually and understand the impact of each setting.

Past performance does not guarantee future results. Trading involves significant risk. Only trade with capital you can afford to lose.

All broker and prop firm names are trademarks of their respective owners. The developer is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any named broker or firm.