It might be a big jump, but keep in mind that we got a "free jump" going from the Ophio/AR-C velvet gearset to the Pactmaker's set. That gets you most of the way there.

In my experience in this game, to meet the bare minimum requirements usually requires melding the guaranteed slots with the latest tier materia. A few extra melds (at 17%). Maybe food. In many cases, such as crafting, you don't need much on the MH/OH tools since that adds up (16 tools worth of melds).