Fractured Fractals
This EA trades fractal breakout patterns, entering positions when price breaks above or below Bill Williams' fractal levels. It uses fractal highs and lows as dynamic support/resistance zones and executes trades on confirmed breakouts with built-in stop loss and take profit management.
Open the interactive view (equity curve, symbol switch)Key facts
Backtest results (H1, about 1 year)
| Symbol | P&L | Annual | Max DD | Trades | Win rate | Sharpe | Recovery | Losing streak | Per trade | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EURUSD | +2.94% | +2.55% | 5.69% | 1 | 0.00% | — | — | — | — | Too few trades |
| GBPUSD | -2.78% | -2.42% | 8.25% | 1 | 0.00% | — | — | — | — | Too few trades |
| USDJPY | +2.83% | +2.46% | 6.59% | 1 | 0.00% | — | — | — | — | Too few trades |
| XAUUSD | -100.00% | -100.00% | 100.00% | 2 | 0.00% | 0.03 | -1.00 | 2 | −$5,312.35 | Account stopped out |
Converted from MQL5 to Python and run with the same rules for every EA. Positions use MT5 lot sizes (100,000 units per FX lot, 100 oz per gold lot) with 1:100 leverage, one order at a time, and a stop-out below 10% of the starting balance. Sharpe is computed from the equity curve. Results marked as unreliable are shown for completeness only.
Against the other Breakout EAs with a reliable result on the same market: XAUUSD: better than 0% of 19
Month by month
| Market | Months with a gain | Best month | Worst month |
|---|---|---|---|
| XAUUSD | 0% | -22.91% 2025-12 | -100.00% 2026-02 |
From the backtest equity curve, sampled about every two days; only reliable results.
Blow-up risk: High
- Has no stop loss or trailing stop
- Hit a stop-out in our backtest (equity below 10%) on XAUUSD
High: stopped out in our backtest, or martingale/grid sizing without a stop loss. Elevated: martingale or grid sizing with a stop loss, or several positions at once without a stop loss. What the label means and what we found →
Strategy analysis
The strategy concept is based on Bill Williams' Fractal indicator, identifying local highs and lows as key support and resistance levels. Entry conditions trigger a buy when price breaks above a previous fractal high and a sell when price breaks below a previous fractal low, constituting a classic breakout approach. Exit conditions rely on predefined stop loss and take profit ratios, with stops placed on the opposite side of the fractal and take profit set according to a risk-reward ratio. Position sizing uses either fixed lot sizes or account-balance-based proportional calculation. Money management depends on the validity of fractal structures, but the strategy lacks a false breakout filter mechanism, making it prone to frequent whipsaw signals and consecutive losses in ranging markets.
Strengths
- Fractal breakout logic is clear and based on classic technical analysis theory, easy to understand and verify
- Uses dynamic support/resistance levels instead of fixed price levels, adapting to market volatility changes
- Built-in stop loss and take profit mechanism provides defined risk boundaries for each trade
Weaknesses
- Lacks a ranging market filter, prone to consecutive losses from frequent false breakouts in non-trending markets
- Fractal signals are inherently lagging, price often moves a significant distance by the time breakout is confirmed
- Does not account for trading costs and slippage, take profit may not cover spread costs in high-frequency environments
Possible improvements
- Add a trend filter (such as ADX or moving average direction) to trade fractal breakouts only in confirmed trends, reducing false signals in ranging markets
- Incorporate volume confirmation or candlestick pattern confirmation to improve signal validity and win rate
Risk assessment
Overall risk: Medium
- Lack of ranging market filter may lead to consecutive stop losses
- Fractal signal lag may result in suboptimal entry prices
Evaluation scores
Parameters
| Parameter | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
Lots | 0.1 | Fixed lot size per trade |
StopLoss | 50 | Stop loss in points |
TakeProfit | 100 | Take profit in points |
FractalPeriod | 5 | Period for fractal calculation |
MagicNumber | 12345 | EA unique magic number identifier |
TrailingStop | 0 | Trailing stop points; activates when price reaches this distance |
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Backtests are historical simulations and do not guarantee future results. Not financial advice.