Gladius EA Advanced

1) General / Compatibility

A: Gladius EA Advanced is built for MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and uses MT4 trade functions. 

A: It is optimized for XAUUSD on M30 (Gold, 30-minute chart). 

A: You may test it on other symbols/timeframes, but the default tuning is specifically for XAUUSD M30, including spread/ATR limits and breakout logic tuned for Gold volatility. Results may differ significantly on other markets. 

A: No. Gladius EA Advanced is designed as a trend/breakout system (EMA trend + ADX strength + Donchian breakout gating), typically aiming for structured moves rather than ultra-fast scalping. 

2) Strategy / How It Trades

A: The EA calculates a decision score using:

• Trend direction via Fast/Slow EMA
• Momentum confirmation via RSI
• Trend strength via ADX + DI separation (+DI vs -DI)
• Optional MACD cross contribution
  Then it applies filters like HTF trend confirmation and S&R Donchian breakout conditions before opening a trade. 

A: No. The EA opens positions normally with risk-based sizing and includes controls like MaxPositionsPerSymbol (default 1). It does not use Martingale or Grid logic in the provided build. 

A: You can control it using:

• MaxPositionsPerSymbol (default = 1)
• OneTradePerBar (prevents multiple entries in the same candle) 

A: When enabled, the EA evaluates entries only after a candle closes, which helps reduce false signals caused by live candle noise. 

3) Risk, Lot Size & Money Management

A: Lot size is calculated from:

• RiskPercent of equity
• Effective stop-loss distance (with a minimum floor used for sizing)
  It then clamps the lot to your broker’s min/max lot and step size. 

A: RiskPercent is the percentage of equity allocated for risk calculation per trade.

Important: High values (e.g., 30%) can produce aggressive lot sizes and are not recommended for most users. 

A: Yes. If enabled, UseDailyLossStop stops new entries when daily loss exceeds:

• MaxDailyDrawdownPct, or
• MaxDailyLossUSD (if set > 0)

A: Yes. It can block trading when:

• Spread exceeds MaxSpreadPoints, or
• ATR is below MinATRPoints (dead market) or above MaxATRPoints (spikes) 

4) Stop Loss, Take Profit, Break-Even & Trailing

A: It supports both:

• FixedSLPoints / FixedTPPoints, or
• ATR-based SL/TP when UseATRForSLTP is enabled with ATRmultSL / ATRmultTP 

A: If enabled, SL can be anchored around the breakout S&R level (Donchian breakout) with an ATR buffer, and then capped by a maximum multiple to control risk. 

A: Yes, it includes:

• Legacy Break-Even (BETriggerPoints/BEOffsetPoints)
• Legacy Trailing Stop (TrailStart/Distance/Step)

A: Yes. You can enable:

• UseATRAdaptiveBE with BETriggerATRs / BEOffsetATRs
• UseATRAdaptiveTrailing with TrailStartATRs / TrailDistanceATRs / TrailStepATRs

5) Filters (HTF, Breakout, Bias Hold)

A: When UseHTFConfirm is ON, entries are allowed only if the higher timeframe trend (default H1 EMA alignment) agrees with the trade direction. 

A: When UseSRBreakoutFilter is ON, the EA waits for price to break above/below a Donchian-based resistance/support level by a buffer (in ATR units) to confirm breakout quality. 

A: Bias Hold reduces flip-flopping between BUY/SELL/NEUTRAL by holding the last bias for a set number of bars unless a strong reversal occurs (Flip Guard). 

A: When enabled, the EA automatically maps market conditions to Bias Hold bars:

• 1 = trend, 3 = normal, 5 = choppy

6) News Filter (WebRequest / ForexFactory JSON)

A: Yes. It includes an event-based news blocking filter that reads ForexFactory weekly calendar JSON and blocks trading X minutes before/after high-impact events.

A: In MT4 go to:
Tools → Options → Expert Advisors → “Allow WebRequest for listed URL”
Then add this URL:

• https://nfs.faireconomy.media 

A: Common reasons:

• WebRequest URL not added in MT4 options
• Internet/firewall blocking MT4
• Temporary rate-limit or server response issues
  The dashboard also shows fetch status for troubleshooting.

A: The EA auto-disables live WebRequest in Strategy Tester to avoid tester restrictions and rate-limit issues. So news blocking is not applied during backtests by design.

7) Installation & Recommended Setup

A:

1. Install the EA in MT4 → MQL4 → Experts
2. Restart MT4
3. Open XAUUSD M30 chart
4. Attach EA and enable:
   • AutoTrading button ON
   • (Optional) WebRequest URL for News Filter 

A: The EA has a protection option: WaitNewBarAfterAttach (used when BarClose signals are ON) to reduce “on-attach” entries. If you still want strict behavior, keep UseBarCloseSignals = true and ensure WaitNewBarAfterAttach is active.

A: For best performance:

• Low spread (respect MaxSpreadPoints)
• Stable execution (reasonable slippage)
• XAUUSD with reliable quotes

8) Dashboard & Visual Tools

A: The dashboard can display:

• Next lot estimate, Bias & Score
• Spread/ATR status with danger flags
• Support/Resistance + Donchian length
• Equity/Balance and P/L summaries
• News Filter status and next/active blocked event (if enabled) 

A: Yes. Use:

• DrawSRLines / DrawBreakoutLines
• ShowSRPriceLabels / ShowBreakoutPriceLabels

9) Inputs / Common Settings Questions

A: Try:

• Increase ScoreThreshold
• Increase DonchianLookback
• Tighten MinADX and DI separation (MinDISeparation)
• Keep UseBarCloseSignals = true

A: Try:

• Slightly reduce ScoreThreshold
• Reduce DonchianLookback or breakout buffer (BreakBufferATRs)
• Check if News Filter, Daily Loss Guard, Session Filter, or spread/ATR limits are blocking entries 

A: Yes. Enable UseSessionFilter and set:

• SessionStartHour / SessionEndHour (server time)
• TradeMonday…TradeFriday toggles 

10) Safety, Expectations & Disclaimer

A: No. Trading involves risk. Market conditions change, and past performance does not guarantee future results. Always test on a demo account and use responsible risk settings.

A:

• Start with lower RiskPercent
• Test on demo and forward test on a small account
• Verify broker spread, execution, and slippage behavior
• Understand the News Filter and session restrictions