When you’re buried in the trenches of prop firm trading, all the edges matter. And MT5 is loaded with tools that provide you with an edge if you know what to do with them. One of the most underutilized benefits? Blending and combining multiple chart types to hone your perspective of the market.
Yeah, most traders pick a favorite—candlesticks, bars, maybe even the occasional line chart—and they rarely stray from it. But here’s the thing: using just one chart is like trying to solve a puzzle with half the pieces missing. When you’re funded and every trade counts toward your evaluation metrics or profit split, that’s not a gamble worth taking.
So let’s discuss the blending of chart types within MT5 to better understand a clearer, more balanced read on what the market’s actually saying.
Why MT5 Charts Deserve a Second Look
MetaTrader 5 (MT5) wasn’t designed for cookie-cutter trading. Its flexibility is built right in. Whether you scalp S&P futures, swing forex pairs, or juggle several funded accounts, MT5 allows you to customize your workspace with a combination of charts that will enable you to notice trends and signals you’d otherwise overlook.
Yes, candlestick charts are a personal favorite (and rightly so), but there are four alternative types of charts in MT5 that could use some love:
- Bar Charts
- Line Charts
- Heikin-Ashi
- Renko (with DIY plugins)
Each one cuts the market up differently—and when combined, can point out things that a single chart can’t.
The Problem With One-Chart Dependency
Suppose you’re trading just candlesticks. They’re wonderful for illustrating price action and market sentiment. But they also introduce noise—plenty of it. Fakeouts, choppy consolidations, and indecision candles can catch even experienced traders out. If you trade only candlesticks, you’re basically seeing the mood of the market but not questioning why it’s feeling that way.
Now think of combining candlesticks with a Heikin-Ashi chart. Suddenly, those wild swings and wicks get smoothed out. Trends get more defined. You’re no longer surprised by what appeared to be a reversal but was actually just market noise.
That’s the magic of mixing up chart types. It’s not about switching allegiances—it’s about diversifying your toolkit.
Chart Type Rundown: What Each One Offers
Candlestick Charts
These are your bread and butter. Prop traders most often resort to candlesticks because they provide instant visual feedback—wicks, body size, engulfing patterns, dojis… the whole shebang. You can read market sentiment, pressure points, and reversals in an instant.
Best used for:
- Entry/exit signals
- Reading market sentiment
- Recognizing reversal patterns
Downside:
Too much noise during ranging markets. Can give you the impression there’s momentum when there isn’t.
Bar Charts
Bar charts display the same information as candlesticks (open, high, low, close), but in a less “graphical” form. Traders like bars because they make you think more objectively—free from the emotional signals candlesticks provide.
Best applied to:
- Simple trend analysis
- Reducing bias from visual clutter
Downside:
- Longer to read if you’re accustomed to candles. Less intuitive.
Line Charts
This one just graphs closing prices. That may sound minimalistic, but it’s great when you want a bird’s-eye view. Line charts cut through the noise and tell you where the market actually closed—arguably the most influential price of the session.
Best used for:
- Determining support/resistance levels
- Not available for Spotting divergence with indicators
- Long-term trend visualization
Downside:
No highs/low data. You miss a significant amount of intra-bar context.
Heikin-Ashi
These altered candlesticks average price data to eliminate trends. They’re phenomenal at cutting noise and informing you when a trend is beginning—or ending.
Best used for:
- Trend confirmation
- Identifying smooth entry/exit points
- Avoiding whipsaws
Downside:
They lag. You won’t be seeing live price action, and that can hold up your decisions if you use HA candles by themselves.
Renko (via plugin/EA)
Renko disregards time and marks bricks only when price travels a specified distance. This makes it deadly for detecting clean breakouts, pullbacks, and trend continuation plays.
Best applied to:
- Clean breakout trading
- Removing time-based noise
- Identifying trend structure
Downside:
Needs custom indicators or third-party tools in MT5. Also lags in highly volatile markets.
Real-World Example: EUR/USD Reversal Setup
Suppose you see a double bottom in the process of forming on your 15-minute candlestick chart. Price action is encouraging—there’s a bullish engulfing candle at support.
Wait. Before firing, you take a look at your Heikin-Ashi chart. Still displaying strong red bars. No hint of a trend reversal yet.
Your line chart? It tells you that you’re indeed at a significant support level last week—good.
Renko chart? Just created a green brick, which means momentum could be turning.
Bar chart on the 4H? You see a neat reversal bar develop, with a higher close than the previous two.
Now, rather than speculating, you’ve created a multi-level confirmation. You’ve cut out the noise and zeroed in on a higher-quality trade setup. That’s how the pros do it.
Avoiding Overkill: Don’t Chart Yourself Into Confusion
Here’s where traders mess this up: they add too many charts. Before they know it, they’re flipping through tabs like they’re playing a memory game. That’s analysis paralysis waiting to happen.
You don’t always need five charts. Think of them as lenses—use various ones depending on what you’re trying to observe. If you’re scalping, perhaps candlestick + line is sufficient. If you’re swing trading, Heikin-Ashi + bar may be the more suitable pair.
Make it clean. Make it intentional.
