The application of combined steered cathodic arc evaporation and unbalanced magnetron sputtering utilising closed magnetic field conditions generated by electromagnets raises a broad field of opportunities to surface engineering of metallic substrate materials. Low pressure plasma nitriding (5.10@super -1@ Pa) as well as low energy metal ion implantation (U@sub s@-1200 V) with steered arc discharge as ion source allow the synthesis of substrate/ coating interfaces specifically tailored to the demands of the actual application. Nitriding as deep as 20µm and Cr ion implantation to a depth of 20nm create a surface chemistry, which enhances the adhesion and encourages localised epitaxial growth of the reactively magnetron sputter deposited nitride films. Alternatively semi-implanted micro-crystalline Nb deposits may be formed, which represent an excellent pre-treatment for corrosion and wear resistant hard coatings. Due to the outstanding adhesion and the graded film architecture, including a stress gradient inducing base layer, superhard- superlattice coatings with a period of approximately 3.5 nm based on TiAlN (TiAlN/CrN, TiAlN/VN, TiAlN/ZrN) and CrN (CrN/NbN) showing Hp values > 40 GPa have been produced exhibiting comparable coating productivity to monolithically grown nitrides like TiAlN and CrN. Despite residual stresses in the coatings up to -7 GPa critical load values L@sub c@ > 50N and HRC indentation class “1” were achieved. Finally, TiAlN coatings with layered Y incorporation have been especially designed for dry high speed cutting of HRC>60 die steel and coating of hot forging tools for working temperatures >900°C.