TrendCandleEA — Config 1.3 (Active): A Momentum-Driven, Virgin-Price-Independent Configuration for XAUUSD

A third official TrendCandleEA configuration for XAUUSD — independent from the Virgin Price filter, driven by ADX, MACD, Squeeze Momentum, Dual ZigZag and Volume. Higher frequency, symmetrical long/short exposure, and a distinct trader profile.

1. Introduction

So far, two XAUUSD configurations of TrendCandleEA have been documented:

• Config 1.1 — Balanced (Virgin Price lookback = 1 000 candles)
• Config 1.2 — Selective (Virgin Price lookback = 10 000 candles)

Those two configurations are nearly identical in structure. Their only difference is the depth of the Virgin Price lookback — one trades more often and with a slightly higher drawdown, the other trades less often but with a higher win rate and a smoother equity curve. Both are fundamentally quiet, low-frequency configurations that rely heavily on a specific price-level filter to filter out the noise.

This article introduces a third, distinct configuration — Config 1.3 — Active. It is not a variant of Config 1.1 or 1.2. It is a different filter stack entirely, built around a different philosophical core.

Its single most important characteristic: the Virgin Price filter is disabled. The strategy does not care whether the price level has been visited before. Instead, it relies on momentum and trend-leg confirmation to identify valid entries.

2. The Configuration

3. The Filter Stack in Plain Terms

Config 1.3 keeps only the filters that describe what the market is doing right now, and drops every filter that describes where price sits in relation to past history.

3.1 What is kept

• ADX(7) ≥ 25 — the market must be trending, not ranging.
• MACD momentum — the MACD line must be on the correct side of its signal line.
• Squeeze Momentum (MOMENTUM_DIRECTION) — momentum must be on the correct side of zero. Unlike the BTC configuration, there is no requirement of a recent squeeze release; the signal simply reads momentum direction.
• ZigZag #1 (M30) — the current leg on the signal timeframe must be going in the direction of the trade.
• ZigZag #2 (H4) — the higher timeframe leg must confirm the same direction.
• Volume filter — the signal candle must show above-average volume that is also rising versus the previous candle.

3.2 What is dropped

• Virgin Price filter — the strategy does not check whether the entry price was visited in the past. This is the defining removal of Config 1.3.
• Both Bollinger modalities — there is no reference to the median line, no reference to the outer bands, no volatility-based position filter.
• RSI — the overbought/oversold thresholds are gone.
• Matrend and Higher-Timeframe MA — no price-versus-moving-average filter.

The result is a configuration that reacts to momentum and trend alignment, without any constraint on where the price sits relative to its own history or to volatility envelopes.

4. Results in Depth

4.1 Global Statistics

4.2 Directional Breakdown

The strategy traded both directions with real balance: 60 long trades (61,67 % win rate) and 103 short trades (66,02 % win rate). This is a notable strength — the configuration is not biased toward a specific market regime.

4.3 Key Observations

• High trade frequency: 163 trades over 9 months is roughly 18 per month, or about 4 per week. This is 4 to 5 times more active than Config 1.2.
• Higher absolute return: +177,6 % net profit, the highest of all three configurations documented so far.
• Higher drawdown: 10,08 % maximum balance drawdown and 12,07 % maximum equity drawdown. This is the trade-off for the higher frequency.
• Lower Profit Factor: 1,90 is materially lower than Config 1.2 (5,60) and lower than Config 1.1 (2,65). The strategy wins less per unit of risk, but trades often enough to accumulate more total profit.
• Balanced exposure: long and short are both active and both profitable.

5. Main Differences vs Config 1.1 and 1.2

Config 1.1 and 1.2 differ from each other by a single input (the Virgin Price lookback). Config 1.3, by contrast, differs from both of them on nine structural points.

6. Which Trader Is This Configuration For?

Each of the three XAUUSD configurations is designed for a different trading profile. None is objectively "better" than another — they simply express different priorities.

6.1 Config 1.1 — Balanced

Profile: The pragmatic trend-follower.

This trader wants a reasonable number of opportunities (roughly 10 trades per month), accepts a moderate drawdown around 6–7 %, and is comfortable with a Profit Factor in the 2.5–3.0 range. They prefer a portfolio-level view and are not scared by a normal loss streak. They want a configuration that "works" without demanding exceptional patience or exceptional risk tolerance.

6.2 Config 1.2 — Selective

Profile: The capital-preservation trader.

This trader prioritizes low drawdown, high win rate, and a smooth equity curve above all else. They are comfortable with fewer trades (roughly 4 per month) and longer waiting periods. They accept a lower absolute return in exchange for very high conviction per trade. Config 1.2 is the natural choice for traders who find it psychologically difficult to sit through drawdowns, or who run the EA on an account where capital preservation is a hard requirement.

6.3 Config 1.3 — Active

Profile: The active momentum trader.

This trader wants frequency and symmetrical exposure. They are comfortable with a higher number of trades, a slightly lower win rate per trade, and a drawdown in the 10 % range. In exchange, they get:

• The highest absolute return of the three configurations (+177,6 % vs +151,3 % and +79,7 %).
• A strategy that trades in both directions roughly equally (60 long / 103 short), which means it is not implicitly betting on a bull market.
• More statistical feedback in less time — 163 trades is enough to build a meaningful sample over a 9-month period, whereas Config 1.2's 37 trades is a very small sample.

Config 1.3 is also the natural choice for traders who want the EA to participate more actively in the market, whether because they are running it on a smaller account where they want more frequent signals, or because they psychologically prefer to see the EA "doing something" regularly.

7. How to Use It

7.1 Installation

1. Open MetaTrader 5 and locate the EA in the Navigator.
2. Drag the EA onto an XAUUSD M30 chart.
3. In the input window, apply the parameters listed in Section 2.
4. Ensure InpMagic = 1005 so that it does not interfere with Config 1.1/1.2 instances running on the same account.

7.2 Recommended Customization — Trade Comment

If you run Config 1.1, Config 1.2 and Config 1.3 on the same account, use a distinct trade comment for each, so that open positions are unambiguously identifiable from the MT5 mobile app or from the terminal's Trade tab. For example:

• Config 1.1 → XauTrend-Balanced
• Config 1.2 → XauTrend-Selective
• Config 1.3 → XauTrend-Active

This is not cosmetic — the trade comment is the only reliable way to identify which configuration opened a given position at a glance.

7.3 Operational Notes

• The EA evaluates signals once per closed M30 candle.
• InpMaxPositions = 1 means the configuration never holds more than one position at a time. If a second signal arrives while a position is open, it is ignored. This is a deliberate risk-control choice of Config 1.3.
• Because InpAllowHedge = true in the inputs but InpMaxPositions = 1 , the practical effect is that opposite-direction entries are also blocked while a position is open — the position must be closed first (by TP or SL) before a new signal can open.

8. Conclusion

Config 1.3 — Active completes the XAUUSD family of TrendCandleEA configurations with a third, distinct trading profile. Where Config 1.1 and 1.2 are quiet, price-history-sensitive, low-frequency configurations, Config 1.3 is a momentum-driven, Virgin-Price-independent strategy with higher frequency, symmetrical long/short exposure, and a higher absolute return.

Over 9 months of 100 % real-tick backtest on Tickmill-Demo, Config 1.3 produced:

• 163 trades, a 64,42 % win rate (105 wins / 58 losses),
• Profit Factor of 1,90,
• +177,6 % net return with 10,08 % maximum balance drawdown and 12,07 % maximum equity drawdown,
• Sharpe Ratio of 10,92,
• Balanced exposure: 60 long trades (61,67 % win rate) and 103 short trades (66,02 % win rate).

The choice between the three configurations is a choice of trading style, not a choice of quality. Traders who value patience and smoothness will prefer Config 1.2. Traders who want a well-balanced, moderately active approach will prefer Config 1.1. Traders who want frequency, symmetry, and higher absolute returns — and who accept a slightly higher drawdown — will prefer Config 1.3.

Thank you for reading. Feedback, bug reports and suggestions are welcome in the comments section.

Useful Links

• Download TrendCandleEA on the MQL5 Market
• Download MetaTrader 5 & the Strategy Tester
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