A high temperature composite target AlN-TiB2-TiSi2 with heterogeneous distribution of compounds (AlN-50 wt.%; TiB2-35 wt.%; TiSi2-15 wt.%) was used for sputtering via combined reactive/non-reactive DC magnetron sputtering onto substrate materials either cylindrical polished steel (Fe, 18%-Ni, 12%-Cr, 10%-Ti) or monocrystalline silicon. A gradient coating was produced by sequential non-reactive and reactive sputtering of the target. The resulting gradient film was composed of two layers with different microstructure and elemental composition. A first layer (~ 200 nm) was mainly based on light (B, C, N) and metallic (Al, Si, Ti) elements, whereas the second layer contained well distributed nanocrystals embedded in an amorphous matrix, with crystal sizes ranging from 5 to 40 nm. The films displayed extremely flat surfaces and values of hardness, elastic modulus, elastic recovery (We), H/E⁎ ratio and H3/E⁎2 ratio of 17.55 GPa, 216.7 GPa, 60%, 0.08 and 0.12 GPa, respectively. Nanowear tests demonstrated relatively high wear resistance, which is promising for hard protective adaptive coatings and diffusion barriers due to short propagation of dislocations in the amorphous matrix and the elastic and hard nature of the nanocomposite structure.