They already have side quests in the beta! You can do those bounties to get your rep up, which is effing great. I'm not going to have a life when this game drops. I had to force myself to stop playing just now, I don't want to hit rank 8 in my first sitting..
Sorry, to be more precise, legitimate side quests.
Bounties are the equivalent of challenges in basically any Call of Duty or recent Halo game.
-get X number of kills
-get 10 kills from behind
-assists
Etc.
Free roam also has "missions" but they amount to little more than, "Go here and spin the camera for 10 seconds," or,"Kill like 5 things and pick up their drops."
The Events are the closest thing to a Side Mission. You get a unique enemy encounter which is a legitimate challenge.
As someone who's played something like BioWare's Old Republic games, they Mount to basically nothing. I'm hoping a legit side quest. Like you roam the planet, find a guy who's family has been taken by the Fallen or Hive, and need to go somewhere to rescue that shit.
Naturally, these may be in the game on release. They may even be on the Beta (only played opening day...didn't play today). So who knows.
Still, trolling people on that Tower never gets old. If you get a group of three, just walk like pros in a formation, then dance around people. Some will just freak out and run away, and chasing them is hilarious.
_@: 
